Former NHL player Raymond Sawada dies of heart attack at age 38

The family of the former Dallas Stars forward announced his death resulting from a heart attack while playing in a friendly game.

Former NHL player Raymond Sawada, who played for the Dallas Stars in the 2008-09 season, died Monday of a heart attack at age 38 while playing a friendly recreational hockey game with the Richmond Cowboys in Vancouver, Canada.

Sawada's family announced his death while his former NHL team released a statement of condolences regarding the player's passing.

Sawada, a second-round pick in the 2004 NHL draft, played 11 total games and scored one goal before moving to the AHL. He attended Cornell University from 2004 to 2008, where he was a team captain.

Sawada retired from professional field hockey in 2016 and began working as a firefighter in the city of Burnaby, Canada.