By Rhys Richards (@RREsq)
On Tuesday evening, Detroit’s seventh round selection from the 2007 NHL Entry Draft Bryan Rufenach was electrocuted. This tragedy comes approximately nine months after the Red Wings’ extended family lost former player and assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, former defenseman Ruslan Salei, and former draft pick and prospect Stefan Liv in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in September.
While details are limited, Michigan Live is reporting, via a German-based website, that Rufenach died when he touched a power line after climbing atop a stationary train car in Grindelwald in the Bernese Alps.
Grindelwald is a winter tourist attraction known for its ski slopes. The village is located in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland and is home to approximately 4,000 people.
Rufenach, a 6’0,” 192 pound defenseman for Grand Rapids, was drafted 208th overall. He enjoyed a steady four-year career at Clarkson University before turning pro in 2010-2011.
This season, Rufenach scored 13 goals and added 20 assists for the Toledo Walleye. He was called up to Grand Rapids on several occasions, getting into 13 games and contributing two assists.
As Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill told Michigan Live, “He was a very personable young man. Everybody loved him, he was full of energy and just starting his pro career. He had a great college career and he was hoping to really get his feet wet in pro hockey this year.”
Grand Rapids head coach Curt Fraser told Michigan Live, “He was a smart, good young man. My boys (now ages 19 and 20) would go to the prospects camps (in Traverse City and Detroit) and Bryan was always one of their favorites, so that gives you an idea of what kind of kid he was.”
He added, “He looked after my guys, they really paid attention to what he did, and they really enjoyed his company.”
Throughout the week, Griffins teammates, including Brendan Smith, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Landon Ferraro, Trevor Parkes, Mitch Callahan, and Will Coetzee, took to twitter to share their condolences with Rufenach’s family and friends.
On their website, the Griffins issued a statement Wednesday morning expressing the team’s “condolences and heartfelt prayers.”
The Barrie, Ontario native was only 23.
Statistics, rosters, and other information obtained at www.myswitzerland.com/en/grindelwald.html
Share your thoughts about the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings, and hockey in general with Rhys at Twitter: @RREsq. He can be reached via email at RhysJRichards@gmail.com. Join the many fans of The Hockey Guys on Facebook and Twitter @TheHockeyGuys
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