The physical violence of the National Hockey League (NHL) is downright terrifying. The way these guys lay on each other out and the hits they take could and should scare the wits out of anybody!
Here is a real life story of an NHL player battling with addiction issues.
As rain washed over him, Todd Fedoruk stumbled on the streets of Tampa, Florida in his latest haze, this one ignited by a concoction of booze and cocaine.
The Bully Unveiled
His secret, reckless lifestyle had fueled his transformation from NHL enforcer to a junkie hooked on cocaine and marijuana that threw his life and career into jeopardy. Fedoruk had been in this dark place before, believing he beat his addiction the first time with the same steely will he needed to scrape with the baddest bullies in the league to earn his keep in the NHL.
Yet here he was, back socializing with the wrong crowds, patronizing the seedy part of towns, hustling for whatever type of drugs he could abuse. On a rainy pre-dawn trip after the 2010 season, a disgraced Fedoruk had nowhere to hide.
“I didn’t want to drive anywhere because I was loaded,” he said. “I couldn’t stay in the house because I was paranoid. All the insanity came back.
“I knew everything was coming to an end. I didn’t care about hockey anymore. I didn’t care about my family. I was struck with this feeling of; how the hell did I get back here after everything I’ve been through? How the hell did I get back in this position again?”
He needed help. Drug addiction was not a disease he could fight alone.
Sitting in an NHL locker room, drinking a cup of coffee, Fedoruk now believes he’s one of the lucky ones. In a summer that has the NHL reeling from three chilling deaths of noted tough guys, Fedoruk is alive to share his story.
“A lot of guys in my role,” he said, “kind of carry these demons around with them.”
Guys like Derek Boogaard.
The first time Fedoruk met Boogaard, they were teenage prospects in Regina, Saskatchewan. Fedoruk, four years older, saw a kid who couldn’t skate, couldn’t fight a lick, yet had already grown into his 200-plus-pound frame that would serve him well as one of the league’s top instigators.