How Did Gino Odjick Die? Ice Hockey Player Cause of Death Explained

Gino Odjick, a fan favourite who spent eight seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, has passed away.

How Did Gino Odjick Die?

Gino Odjick, a former NHL forward, passed away on Sunday from a heart attack. He was 52.

His sister Dina announced the devastating news on Facebook.

Francesco Aquilini, the team’s governor and chairman, released a statement expressing the organization’s sympathy to Odjick’s family.

“Gino was a fan favourite from the moment he joined the organization, putting his heart and soul into every shift on and off the ice,”

“He inspired many and embodied what it means to be a Canuck. Personally, he was a close friend and confidant, someone I could lean on for advice and support. He will be deeply missed.”

Rest in peace 💙 pic.twitter.com/Jg1UDO4pFe

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 16, 2023

Gino Odjick Cause of Death

We’re sorry to have to inform you that Gino Odjick has passed away.

We regret to announce the passing of Former NHL player and Algonquin legend, Gino Odjick at the age of 52. Rest easy, you were an inspiration and more. 🪶 pic.twitter.com/8AaoQZg6ju

— Hockey Indigenous (@HKYIndigenous) January 16, 2023

Longtime companion Peter Leech, who was with Odjick when he passed away after collapsing before an appointment at a medical clinic, provided the Gino Odjick cause of death information.

Leech told Postmedia by phone,

“He had a heart attack, couldn’t recover from it. We knew this day was going to come, we didn’t know when. We were hoping much later,”

“He collapsed in the clinic, thank god the nurses were there. They worked on him for 45 minutes,”

“It was tough to watch.”

Odjick was diagnosed in 2014 as having Al amyloidosis, a rare blood condition that resulted in abnormal protein deposits coating and hardening his heart. After undergoing experimental treatment in Ottawa, he proceeded to defy the odds and, by 2017, declared that he was in remission. He had been assigned weeks to months to survive.

Unfortunately, Gino Odjick passed away on January 15, 2023.

Gino Odjick cause of death has left the community inconsolable.

Who was Gino Odjick?

Wayne Gino Odjick was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger.

Odjick began playing hockey at a young age, but he didn’t join a formal team under Joe’s management until he was 11 years old. A Maniwaki youth ice hockey club entered him into the 1983 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament.

Up until the age of 15, Odjick played for local teams that frequently had his father as their coach and mostly played other teams from the reserves. At that age, he thought about giving up hockey to pursue other interests, but he chose to accept a tryout for the Ontario-based Tier II junior Hawkesbury Hawks.

Odjick had been a defensive defenseman up until that moment, but he quickly realized that his abilities were inadequate and switched to become an enforcer. Odjick was given the moniker “the Algonquin Assassin” for the first time in Hawkesbury, in honour of his native origin and fighting prowess.

Racial conflicts between residents of the reserve and the adjacent population, according to Odjick, contributed to his sense of duty to protect his squad and his fighting abilities. Later, he would make an effort to encourage Native youth and demonstrate their possibilities.

Gino Odjick Career

Odjick competed for the Memorial Cup twice during his two seasons with the Laval Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as a young player. The Vancouver Canucks selected Odjick in the fifth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft (86th overall).

Prior to making the Canucks his primary team in 1990, he participated in 17 games with the Milwaukee Admirals of the International Hockey League, the Canucks’ minor league club. He immediately rose to popularity among the crowd, who would often scream “Gino, Gino” in his honor.

He was mostly an enforcer for the Canucks. He shared a line with the prolific scorer Pavel Bure for a period of his stay in Vancouver. From 1990–1991 through 1997–1998 he participated in a total of 8 seasons for the Canucks. He accrued over 200 penalty minutes in six of those seasons, and twice over 300. He had over 200 penalty minutes in each of the Canucks (181 in 35 games) and New York Islanders during his sixth season (1997–98). (31 in 13 games).

Gino Odjick Retirement

Odjick was traded to the New York Islanders in the 1997–98 season and played there until the 1999–2000 season, when he was moved to the Philadelphia Flyers. He moved to Montreal in the 2000–01 season from Philadelphia. He played his final NHL season with Montreal in 2001–2002.

He was hit in the back of the head with a puck during a preseason practice, which caused him to miss the majority of the 2002–03 season. The Canadiens later suspended him in February 2003 for failing to report to the minor-league AHL team in Utah.

His final known appearance in an organized hockey game was in 2005 when he was a member of the Horse Lake Thunder squad. He then announced his retirement from professional hockey. The Thunder, which made it to the 2005 Allan Cup semifinals, had several paid ringers on their roster, including former NHL players Theo Fleury, Sasha Lakovic, and Dody Wood.