Ed Kea
{{Short description|Netherlands-born Canadian ice hockey player (1948–1999)}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| caption =
| alt =
| name = Ed Kea
| image =
| image_size = 230px
| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|1|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Weesp, North Holland, Netherlands
| death_date = {{death date and age|1999|8|31|1948|1|19|mf=y}}
| death_place = Six Mile Lake, Ontario, Canada
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 190
| position = Defence
| shoots = Left
| played_for = Atlanta Flames
St. Louis Blues
| career_start = 1969
| career_end = 1983
}}
Adriaan Jozef Kea (January 19, 1948 – August 31, 1999) was a Dutch-born Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Atlanta Flames and St. Louis Blues from 1974 to 1983.
Playing career
Born in Weesp, North Holland, Netherlands, but raised in Collingwood, Ontario (his family moved to Canada when he was four years old),{{cite web|title=Legends of Hockey – Ed Kea|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=13161| website = www.legendsofhockey.net|access-date=October 14, 2016}} Kea started his National Hockey League career with the Atlanta Flames. He also played with the St. Louis Blues. His career lasted from 1974 to 1983. Kea was the father of stand-up comedian Gabe Kea from Cincinnati, and uncle of Jeff Beukeboom and Joe Nieuwendyk.{{cite web|title=Ed Kea|url=http://stlouisblueslegends.blogspot.lt/2011/02/ed-kea.html| website = stlouisblueslegends.blogspot.lt|access-date=October 14, 2016}}
=Injury and retirement=
Kea was playing for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, the Blues' Central Hockey League affiliate in Salt Lake City in 1983 when he suffered severe head trauma as he fell and hit his head on the ice during a game. The injury left him physically and mentally disabled. Because he was playing in a minor league game, NHL benefits for catastrophic injuries did not apply to his case, and he and his family struggled financially for several years because he was unable to hold a job.
Post-playing career and death
On September 1, 1999, Kea accidentally drowned at his family's summer home in Six Mile Lake in Ontario. He was 51 years old.{{Cite web|url=http://www.collingwoodsportshalloffame.ca/Ed_Kea.html|title=Ed Kea Page 1|website=www.collingwoodsportshalloffame.ca|access-date=January 23, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=http://thirdstringgoalie.blogspot.ca/2017/01/1973-74-atlanta-flames-ed-kea-jersey.html|title=1973-74 Atlanta Flames Ed Kea Jersey |website=thirdstringgoalie.blogspot.ca |date=January 19, 2017 |access-date=January 23, 2018}} In 2012, Dave Bidini claimed in an opinion article for the National Post that Kea committed suicide due to undiagnosed injuries and concussions from his playing career.{{cite news| url = https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/its-not-always-the-best-game-you-can-name| title = It's not always the best game you can name| newspaper=National Post| date=August 20, 2011| last1 = Bidini| first1 = Dave}}
Career statistics
=Regular season and playoffs=
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em" | ||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Regular season ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Playoffs | ||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM | ||||||||
| 1967–68
| Collingwood Legionnaires | OHA-C | — | — | — | — | —
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1967–68 | Collingwood Kings | OHA Sr | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968–69
| Collingwood Legionnaires | OHA-C | — | — | — | — | —
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1968–69 | Collingwood Kings | OHA Sr | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1969–70
| EHL | 52 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 130
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1970–71 | WHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1970–71
| Jersey Devils | EHL | 74 | 8 | 26 | 34 | 148
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1971–72 | EHL | 63 | 10 | 39 | 49 | 107
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 |
| 1972–73
| CHL | 68 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 145
| 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1973–74 | NHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1973–74
| CHL | 51 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 38
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1974–75 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 50 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 39
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1974–75
| Omaha Knights | CHL | 21 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 26
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1975–76 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 78 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 101
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1976–77
| Atlanta Flames | NHL | 72 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 63
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1977–78 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 60 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 40
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978–79
| Atlanta Flames | NHL | 53 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 40
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1978–79 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1979–80
| NHL | 69 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 79
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1980–81 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 74 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 60
| 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| 1981–82
| St. Louis Blues | NHL | 78 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 62
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1982–83 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 46 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 24
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 1982–83
| CHL | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals ! 583 !! 30 !! 145 !! 175 !! 508 ! 32 !! 2 !! 4 !! 6 !! 39 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{icehockeystats|legends=13161 }}
- [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/16/sports/for-ed-kea-now-i-m-fine-but.html?&pagewanted=2 NYT]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kea, Ed}}
Category:Accidental deaths in Ontario
Category:Atlanta Flames players
Category:Deaths by drowning in Canada
Category:Dutch emigrants to Canada
Category:Dutch ice hockey defencemen
Category:Ice hockey people from Simcoe County
Category:Omaha Knights (CHL) players
Category:Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players
Category:Sportspeople from Collingwood, Ontario
Category:St. Louis Blues players