Former Dallas Stars forward passes away at age 38

Sawada was a second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2004 and spent the majority of his career in the American Hockey League, but appeared in 11 NHL games across parts of three seasons, scoring one goal.

After retiring from hockey in 2015 following a season in the EIHL with the Belfast Giants, Sawada returned to British Columbia and two years later, became a firefighter with the City of Burnaby.

A family friend announced the news via a GoFundMe earlier on Tuesday, saying that Sawada passed away on Monday night, playing the game he loved. He leaves behind his wife, Nicole, as well as two young daughters, Victoria (9) and Charlotte (6). At the time of writing this, the GoFundMe for Sawada's family has surpassed the initial $50,000 goal and is sitting at $94,415.

Our thoughts are with the Sawada family at this extremely difficult time. If you would like to donate to the GoFundMe for his family, you can click the link below.