Kraken Notebook
No multiple items. This topic needs to stand alone.
Our condolences to Seattle forward Ryan Winterton, his friends and family, for the loss of his brother Jacob, who died on Tuesday following a battle with cancer. The 25-year-old played in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Flint Firebirds and Oshawa Generals before moving on to play for the University of Guelph Gryphons.
Jacob was diagnosed with bone cancer in November, before it spread to his lungs.
There was an outpouring of condolences from the hockey world toward his 22-year-old brother Ryan, who shared thoughts via social media a day after the Kraken announced his leave of absence for family reasons.
“You weren’t just someone I loved, you were someone I looked up to, someone who guided me, believed in me, and helped shape the person I am today,” Ryan wrote of his brother.
Jacob’s former teams and the OHL offered condolences in statements. He was “taken far too soon,” the league said.
“Obviously it’s a very difficult time for Ryan and his family and we’re always obviously supportive of him,” Kraken head coach Lane Lambert said Wednesday. “(I) can’t imagine. We just want everyone in his family to be as good as they can possibly be and certainly in terms of his game, when he comes back, we miss him and we can use him.”
