Earlier this morning, we received the unexpected news of the passing of former NHL star goaltender and Vezina runner-up, Roman Cechmanek, at the age of 52.
In addition to his Vezina nomination, Cechmanek earned the William M. Jennings Trophy as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers and established himself as one of the league's top goaltenders for nearly half a decade.
Apart from his impressive NHL career, which began at the age of 29, he also achieved Olympic gold for Czechia in 1998.
The details surrounding his unexpected passing remain unclear, as reported by iSport.cz, a Czech sports website. It was his son Roman who discovered him and promptly contacted the authorities.
Cechmanek, undrafted in his late teens and early twenties, was eventually selected at age 29 in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. Making a remarkable impact in his rookie season (2000-21), he seized the Flyers' starting position, concluding with a 35-15-6 record, a .921 save percentage, and a 2.01 goals-against-average (GAA), which included an impressive 10 shutouts.
