Wade Belak

Born:	July 3, 1976	Draft:	1994 Nordiques, 12th Overall
Hometown:	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Position:	Right Wing/Defense
Known For:	AHL Calder Cup Champion (1997)	Shoots:	Right
National Team:	Canada

Wade Belak (born July 3, 1976) was a Canadian ice hockey player, having played his final year in the NHL with the Nashville Predators during the 2010-11 season. Drafted 12th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Belak’s debut in the NHL would come during 1996-97 after the Nordiques were relocated to Colorado. He played just five games, spending the rest of the season with their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears. After three seasons with the organization, Belak was traded to the Calgary Flames in a deal that involved Theoren Fleury going to Colorado. During the 2000-01 season, Belak was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he would spend the next six seasons and becoming a steadying presence on their blue line

Belak played two more years with the Florida Panthers and three with the Nashville Predators before announcing his retirement on March 8, 2011, citing complications with pelvic arthritis. Sadly, on August 31, 2011, Belak was found dead in a condo in Toronto. The details were not known, however, his passing came in a four-month span involving two other players’ deaths, Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien.

Wade Belak Statistics

Trade Tracker

Date	Traded From	Traded With	Traded To	Traded For
Feb 28, 1999		Rene Corbert Robyn Regehr		Theoren Fleury Chris Dingman
Feb. 26, 2008				Fifth-Round Pick 2008 (Jerome Flaake)
Nov. 27, 2008				Nick Tarnasky

Deeper Dive

• Wade Belak, Rick Rypien, and Mental Illness: Sometimes You Lose the War…
• The Wade Belak file and problems with full “indisclosure”
• Wade Belak: Looking back On His Death And Depression In Hockey

Achievements

• AHL Calder Cup Champion (1997)
• EIHL All-Star Second Team (2005)
• EIHL Champion (2005)
• EIHL Cup Champion (2005)
• EIHL Grand Slam (2005)
• EIHL Playoff Champion (2005)

Sources

• Wikipedia
• Elite Prospects