A massive tragedy struck Edmonton Oilers and the entire hockey community this Saturday. Colby Cave, died after suffering a brain bleed. He would experience complications on Tuesday, and until this Saturday, he fought for his life but unfortunately lost the battle.
His wife, Emily, confirmed this disturbing news by releasing a statement.
“It is with great sadness to share the news that our Colby Cave passed away this morning. Both our families are in shock, but know our Colby was loved dearly by us, his family and friends, the entire hockey community, and many more.”
The 25-year old was transported to the Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on Tuesday and was immediately put in a medically induced coma. The doctors had to perform a surgery that would remove a cyst that pressured his brain and was causing multiple problems. But even though they managed to do that, Cave couldn’t recover and was in a coma until he passed away.
The sign that the situation wasn’t good at all, was Emily’s post on Instagram on Wednesday night, in which she said that his family would need a “miracle” to overcome this situation.
During all this time, his closest ones weren’t able to visit him in the hospital, due to the COVID-19 pandemic rules.
The Oilers and the Bruins, the two teams where Cave appeared in the NHL, released statements in which they mourn the death of their current and former member.
The NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman released a statement also.
“The National Hockey League family mourns the heartbreaking passing of , whose life and hockey career, though too short, were inspiringly emblematic of the best of our game. Undrafted but undaunted, Colby was relentless in the pursuit of his hockey dream with both the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins organizations.”
In order to shut down any speculations, Jason Davidson, the agent of the late player, stated that the COVID-19 virus didn’t have anything with this tragedy. The player wasn’t infected or anything similar.
Cave began playing hockey for Battlefords Stars in the regional Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. He would later transfer to Swift Current Broncos in the Western Hockey League, where he and his teammate and friend from Boston Bruins, Jake DeBrusk, played together.
Caveman, as the fans called him, became the captain of the Broncos and was one of the best centers in the league. He became eligible for the NHL Entry Draft in 2014, but there wasn’t a single team interested in selecting him. However, in 2015, the Boston Bruins decided to give him a chance and offered the player a three-year entry-level contract. Although he spent more time playing for Boston’s affiliate in the AHL, the Providence Blues, he managed to appear 23 times for the Bruins and to score one goal.
The Oilers acquired Cave in January 2019 and gave him much more space to show his potential. In less than a year, he played 44 games for the franchise from Edmonton, scoring three times. During this campaign, he was also a part of Oilers’ AHL affiliate, Bakersfield Condors, where he scored 11 goals, assisted 12 times in 44 matches.
