Derek Boogaard

Derek Boogaard is a Canadian winger on the New York Rangers.

Boogaard was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in 2001, but did not join the team until 2005. He had 6 points and 158 penalty minutes in his first NHL season, and began to make a name for himself as one of the most feared enforcers in the league. At 6'8, 257 lbs, he is one of the largest players in the entire league, and he became the Wild's primary enforcer, topping 100 penalty minutes 3 of the 5 seasons he played there. During the 2010 offseason, the Rangers, apparently desperate for toughness, signed the brawler to a 4 year, $6.5 million deal.

Boogard and his brother run a fighting camp for young hockey players in Saskatchewan that has landed them in some hot water with the politically correct crowd that hates fighting in hockey, and is also the owner of the longest active goal-less streak in the NHL right now, having not scored since January 7, 2006. (222 games at end of '09-10)

On May 13, 2011, Boogaard was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment by some family members.