Wade in Nashville: Remembering Belak

En route to his former teammate's funeral in Nashville, Tie Domi speaks out about depression.

Today in Nashville, a funeral is being held for former NHLer Wade Belak, the Saskatoon native who became a Canadian icon as an enforcer for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Belak was found dead in his apartment Wednesday after an apparent suicide, the third NHL death of the summer following enforcer Derek Boogaard and forward Rick Rypien. Tie Domi, Belak's former teammate and fellow enforcer, insists that the tragedy is not related to the job of being an enforcer and is enraged that the media is linking the two. In his first public interview since Belak’s death, Domi insisted that depression is a very prevalent disease related to chemical changes in the brain. He urged Canadians to try to learn more about depression and urged sufferers to confide in others and hold onto hope that it can be beaten.