Breaking: Father of former NHLer reveals frightening details on son's mental state

One of the biggest fears every parent has from the moment they become a parent is that their child will get hurt, or god forbid that their child will die. That fear has become the daily reality for the father of one former National Hockey League forward. 

Walter Peat has made a desperate plea in an attempt to save the life of his son Stephen Peat, a former National Hockey League enforcer who played 130 NHL games as a member of the Washington Capitals, as a result of the effects of what Walter believes are multiple injuries to the head.

In his career, he scored eight goals and racked up 234 penalty minutes.

In an interview with CBC, Walter Peat revealed frightening details on the mental state of his son, who is now homeless in Langley, British Columbia. The latest call he received from an old friend was alarming. 

"He told me that he'd heard that Stephen was in downtown Langley, walking around, covered with blood, his pants down around his ankles," Peat said.

"I thought, 'Holy shit. Someone's either beat him up or he's close to dead,' and my heart sank.

"But I do realize that at some point in time, this nightmare's going to end one way or the other ... either he's going to get fixed or he's going to die."

Walter Peat blames in part in the NHL for not helping his son when he needed it the most. Peat now suffers from symptoms common to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a type of concussion-related brain injury. The former enforcer is also said to be using drugs and could be close to death. 

"The NHL, they just take, take, take," he said. 

"You got a player who was your employee, you'd think they'd jump to the forefront and say, "What do you need?'"

NHL fans know all too well the tale of the NHL enforcer who goes down a dark road after too many injuries, and it's not so long ago that we lost beloved players like Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak.

Hopefully Walter's cry for help can alert people who can help him save the life of his son...