jammer2 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 20 year old Saginaw Spirit forward Terry Trafford has been declared missing. He was last seen March 3rd at a hockey rink in Saginaw. Police are asking for information or tips as we speak. Hopefully the kid just took off with buddies or something, but don't like the looks of this. Prayers and thoughts go out to the family...... http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/08/junior-hockey-player-terry-trafford-missing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 @jammer2 Not sounding too good.... According to his girlfriend he was cut from the team the day before for partying too much. Apparently he texted her "his life was over". He said he was going home to Toronto but never crossed the border. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaGreatGazoo Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 @jammer2 Not sounding too good.... According to his girlfriend he was cut from the team the day before for partying too much. Apparently he texted her "his life was over". He said he was going home to Toronto but never crossed the border. Aww...man, really?? Been a bunch of activity about this on Twitter the last few days. Didn't hear any of what FC just mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 @DaGreatGazoo I just hope and pray the guy is ok....hopefully just out on a giant bender. We may scoff at the idea of "my life is over" but a LOT of 20 year olds can't put things like this in proper context....they are still kids for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaGreatGazoo Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 @jammer2 I agree. I shudder when I think what I was doing at 20. Okay...sometimes I smile too. This kid has his whole life ahead of him. Getting cut has to be tough on him, but it's also not the end of the world-as this kid seems to think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 as per twitter: @sunayas Michigan State Police confirm car matching Terry Trafford's containing an unidentified male body has been found in Saginaw township. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 @hf101 That sucks...even though I feared it would end this way.. Your whole life in front of you...sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 @flyercanuck Really sad, thoughts and prayers go out to the family. What a waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaGreatGazoo Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 (edited) The Saginaw Spirit major junior hockey team confirmed Tuesday that the body of one of its players was found in his car in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Terry Trafford, 20, of Toronto, Canada, had last been seen March 3 at the Spirit's home area. His girlfriend, Skye Cieszlak, told the Saginaw News that she had received a text from Trafford the day before saying "his life was over and he didn't want to do it anymore." Police did not immediately indicate the cause of Trafford's death. The team confirmed earlier Tuesday that Trafford had been sent home as a disciplinary measure for a violation of team rules on a recent road trip. However, team president and managing partner Craig Goslin said that Trafford had not been dismissed from the team. "That would have been up to Terry," Goslin told the News. "He'd have to change his behavior and make some adjustments. He was on the roster." The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) announced that the scheduled Wednesday game between the Spirit and the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds had been postponed. "Our deepest condolences are with Terry's family and his friends both in Ontario and Michigan," a statement from the team said. "Terry played on our team and was a member of the Spirit family for the last four years and he will be missed." Trafford was in the middle of his fourth season with the Spirit and had recorded 8 goals, 24 assists, and 70 penalty minutes in 54 games. The club had drafted him in the third round of the OHL Priority Selection. The OHL is one of three major junior leagues in the Canadian Hockey League, considered one of the top developmental leagues for young hockey players. Edited March 12, 2014 by DaGreatGazoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Very sad. Police release cause of death for Terry, asphyxiation. How do you even self inflict that? A tough way to go...at least the family does not have to wonder, or have a beleaguered sense of hope.http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/13/ohl-player-terry-trafford-died-of-asphyxiation---reports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Former Barrie Colt Klune is hit hard by Terry's death..... http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/13/news-of-terry-traffords-death-hits-nhler-richard-clune-hard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Former Barrie Colt Klune is hit hard by Terry's death..... http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/13/news-of-terry-traffords-death-hits-nhler-richard-clune-hard a good story jammer, I agree with Clune hopefully more will be done with the CHL to help prevent another tragedy as this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 @hf101 If I know Dave Branch, he will move forward on this quickly, not because it's the right thing to do, but to prevent the CHL's reputation from being tarnished. Hockey players are like any other segment of the population, sometimes they need help for depression. These kids are under TREMENDOUS pressure from all angles of life. Think about it, they are away from home for the first time, living with strange billets they may or may not like, for the first time....some face the prospect of their hockey careers may not be headed towards the pros, which effectively, kills the only dream they ever had...they have the raging hormones of the teen years to deal with, all kinds of puck bunnies throwing themselves at them...all kinds of hurdles that youngsters sometime need professional help to overcome. I wonder if Terry had somebody to talk to, if he would still be here. Perhaps a team sponsored physiologist that he has already formed a bond with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 @jammer2 I missed your post Jammer until now. Here is a read of some of the sad circumstances leading up to Terry's death. http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/what-happened-before-and-after-terry-traffords-suicide/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 @hf101 Just a really sad story all around. When Windsors goalie quit on the team, they made sure his mother accompanied him home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindbergh31 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 @hf101 Just a really sad story all around. When Windsors goalie quit on the team, they made sure his mother accompanied him home.Very sad like Jammer2 stated these kids are under lots of pressure playing in the OHL while chasing their dreams. Hopefully the OHL is pro-active in setting up some type of system where players can go talk to someone without feeling that they'll look upon different by their coaches or fellow players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 @Lindbergh31 I have to really credit the Saginaw Spirit through all of this. They had a professional doctor in place *before* this incident took place. The entire team has access to him, and the doc has an open door policy...he stated he's talked to Terry many times and never caught a hint at what was coming. Kudos to the Spirit to having this service in place, even tough Terry did not utilize it, it was there if he chose so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Very sad like Jammer2 stated these kids are under lots of pressure playing in the OHL while chasing their dreams. Hopefully the OHL is pro-active in setting up some type of system where players can go talk to someone without feeling that they'll look upon different by their coaches or fellow players. Pretty sure I read Bobby Ryan used to go to a therapist every Monday when he played for Owen Sound. His team knew about it and nobody thought of him any worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindbergh31 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 @FC I remember reading that too, it's too bad that it came to this, this young man had his whole life ahead of him but to take it doesn't make any sense and I'm sure that's what his parents are thinking not to mention friends and people who knew him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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