Marek Svatos, former Avalanche forward, dead at 34

Former Colorado Avalanche forward Marek Svatos has died at the age of 34.

On Sunday morning the website Eurolanche, a European fan club of the Avalanche, first reported Svatos’ death. The team later released a statement.

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“The entire Avalanche organization is extremely saddened by this news,” said general manager Joe Sakic, who played with Svatos from the 2003-04 season through 2009-10. “Marek was a tremendous person, a talented hockey player and a great teammate. Our thoughts, prayers and our deepest sympathy to his wife, children and his entire family.”

Some of Svatos’ former teammates with Colorado took to Twitter to pay tribute.

According to the Denver Post, Svatos died in Lone Tree, Colorado. He lived in the Denver area with his wife and two children. A cause of death hasn’t been officially announced or reported.

Svatos, a native of Kosice, Slovakia, was picked in the seventh-round of the 2001 NHL Draft by Colorado. The speedy Svatos scored 32 goals and notched 50 points as a rookie in 2005-06 and finished fifth in Calder Trophy voting that season.

His last season in the NHL came in 2010-11 when the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Svatos, split time with the Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators. Svatos had 172 points and 100 goals in 344 NHL games. His last pro season came in 2013-14 when he had 19 points in 26 games with HC Kosice in Slovakia. Svatos also played 25 games in the KHL during his career.

He represented Slovakia at several international events, including the 2002 World Juniors, the 2006 Olympics and 2010 World Championships.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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