Ray Emery is a Canadian hockey player who played as a goalkeeper. Participated in the KHL stars match, Stanley Cup winner, winner William M. Jennings Trophy. Ray has played in many clubs in Canada, the USA, Russia and Germany. In the article we will get acquainted with the facts of the biography of the athlete and the circumstances of his premature death. And also find out how his friends and colleagues remembered him.
Childhood
Raymond Emery was born in 1982 in the Canadian province of Ontario, in the city of Hamilton. His parents worked in a steel mill. In childhood, the boy was actively involved in sports, preferring team forms. In addition to hockey, in which he played as a defender, Ray was fond of football, baseball and golf.
At nine years old, he was recommended to try himself as a goalkeeper. At that time there was a lack of players in the role of goalkeeper. Ray tried it - it worked out pretty well.
Sports career
At the age of sixteen, goalkeeper Ray Emery played as part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, where he established himself well and became the “rookie of the year”. In the NHL, the athlete made his debut as part of the “Ottawa”, in which he was selected by draft. After four years in the team, hockey player Ray Emery became her main goalkeeper.
In the 2002/2003 season, the athlete won the first nine matches. In doing so, he surpassed Bob Froes, who, at the beginning of his career, won eight times in a row. In the 2005/2006 season, Emery won 12 matches and thus repeated Bernie Parent's record for the number of wins in one month.
In 2008, the athlete signed a contract with the Atlant club for a period of one year. The salary of goalkeeper Ray Emery was eight hundred thousand dollars. According to the rules, a foreign player was allowed to participate in 65% of the meetings of the season. The hockey player played in 43 battles and won 28 victories.
Professional achievements
After the end of the contract, Emery returned to the NHL. In the 2012/2013 season, he won the William Jennings Prize. He shared this victory with hockey player Corey Crawford, a Chicago player. This award is given to the goalkeeper who missed the least number of goals. In addition, Ray twice reached the final of “Bill Masterton Trophy”, thanks to his high skill in sports and devotion to hockey.
Emery completed his professional career in 2016. He spent the last season with the German Adler team.
"Anger is a gift"
That was the tattoo on Emery's arm. Sweat with this slogan passed the whole life of an athlete. Ottawa coach Brian Murray in his interviews said that he had to solve some conflict situations every day, where the goalkeeper was involved.
Ray was constantly breaking discipline. Once he depicted on his helmet a portrait of Mike Tyson - his idol. In this mask, the athlete played the whole match.
There was a case when a team flew to New Jersey for a critical meeting, and Ray at that time had an accident on his “Hammer”. He had to get to the place on his own.
The goalkeeper was constantly late for training. The athlete periodically threw loud parties, the details of which were covered in the media. He was constantly watched by the police. There were even suspicions of drug use, but they were not confirmed by anything. As a result, “Ottawa” abandoned the problem player. Below is Ray Emery in the photo during the fight.
Other NHL clubs did not offer him cooperation. So Ray Emery ended up in Russia. But here, nothing has changed. The goalkeeper often fought. There was a case when he attacked the coach for insisting that he put on a cap.
Emery and attracted partners in the game, and annoyed. No one was indifferent to this talented and impulsive athlete. There was always turmoil around him. Once Ray ate a cockroach on an argument and won five hundred dollars, which is why everyone who was next to him laughed. His temperament, of course, was not always liked by the leadership.
How did Ray Emery avoid punishment and disqualification with this behavior? The statistics of this player was such that much was forgiven him. He played talented, tough and with fire in his eyes.
Personal life
Ray Emery for seven years had a romantic relationship with a Canadian singer named Keshia Chant. The girl is also a songwriter, TV presenter and actress. She is very successful and famous not only in her homeland, but throughout the world. Chant's music is very popular and has won many awards and prizes.
Young people began dating in June 2010. Details of the love story were featured in the series Hockey Wives.
In 2016, Ray made an offer to his beloved. The couple planned to get married. The wedding ceremony was supposed to take place in the summer of 2017, but this did not happen. Keshia made a statement on Instagram that she canceled the wedding.
Instead, on September 18, 2017, the athlete was arrested on the basis of a complaint from his former bride. She accused Emery of several facts of aggression against her and ill-treatment that occurred in the summer and fall of 2016. According to the girl, the athlete threatened her with a weapon.
The guards examined all the evidence provided by the victim and came to the conclusion that they were quite weighty. Emery was accused of assault and threats. He was taken into custody, but then released on bail.
Leaving life
Ray Emery drowned on July 15, 2018 under the most ridiculous circumstances. The athlete had an athletic physique and remained in excellent physical shape. The hockey player was fond of diving and swam perfectly.
On Sunday, July 15, Emery came with friends to Lake Ontario. In the harbor near Hamilton, he plunged into the water and did not emerge. Rescuers searched for him for a long time before they found the body. There was no doubt that it was Ray Emery, his friends recognized him. The incident was immediately reported to the family of the deceased. The police regarded the incident as an accident. The athlete at the time of death was 35 years old.
Memory
Colleagues recall the deceased comrade as a good person - smiling and open, but impulsive and hot-tempered. They say that if Ray lost his temper, he could no longer be stopped.
Those who played with the goalkeeper note his professionalism and reliability. He did not like to lose, but in training he often did not give all his best. But during the match he showed himself in all its glory. The hockey player liked to repeat that he does not respect those who know how to lose. He preferred to play with those who were annoyed by defeat.
The Atlanta comrades recall that when he arrived in Russia, Ray was afraid of an attack on himself because of his skin color and even considered taking protection.
Emery's ex-girlfriend, Keshia Chant, despite what happened between them, also responds warmly about him. She says that Ray’s death became a great grief for her.
Keshia calls his ex-fiancé a “superhero,” loving, affectionate, smart, and funny. She stated that there were disagreements between them, but they could forgive each other, and their mutual love was alive until the very end.
Ray Emery himself has always claimed that after his death they will be unflattering about him. He was an intelligent man and was aware of how he will be remembered. But he could not even guess how soon this would happen, and how quickly his life would expire.