Indigenous Former NHLer, Fred Sasakamoose, Passes Away After COVID-19 Diagnosis

SASKATOON — Fred Sasakamoose, the first Indigenous hockey player from Saskatchewan to make it to the NHL, died Tuesday after falling ill with COVID-19, his son said.

“He was a grassroots guy. He wasn’t he wasn’t a suit and tie. He didn’t belong there. He knew where he belonged. He belonged with his people on the reserve. He belonged with local people in small towns,” Neil Sasakamoose said in a video update posted on Facebook Tuesday afternoon.