Former NHL goaltender Ray Emery drowned while swimming in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, on Sunday. He was 35.

According to the Hamilton Police Department, Emery was reported missing just after 6 a.m. Sunday in Hamilton Harbour, which is on the western tip of Lake Ontario. His body was recovered in proximity to where he was last seen later in the afternoon, police said.

Inspector Marty Schulenberg said that the drowning does not appear to be suspicious. He said first responders were not able to locate Emery right away so they called the dive unit. The search took longer than anticipated because of concerns for the dive team.

“It’s a lengthy process and safety is paramount to our divers,” he said. “We need to take the time do it safely and that’s what the delay was.”Schulenberg called Emery’s death a “case of misadventure.”A post-mortem was to be completed Monday.

“Mr. Emery was taking a swim this morning and the circumstances around that are a part of the investigation,” Schulenberg said. “Those details remain to be uncovered by our investigators.”

“They went out for a swim, and unfortunately, he did not emerge after diving in,” police Inspector Marty Schulenberg told The Hamilton Spectator. “We responded along with Hamilton Fire and EMS. Unfortunately, our efforts on the water and in the area just around the piers were met with negative results.”

Emery will forever be remembered as the badass fighting goalie. His beat downs of Braden Holtby and Marty Biron were some of the mos dominating goalie fights of our generation. Ill never forget the time he fought Andrew Peters of Buffalo after wiping the floor with Biron. Peters was a big enforcer and Emery hung in there like a champ and even managed to get a few blows in on him. Emery always seemed to be a fan favorite and a great teammate in the locker room and its a huge loss for the hockey community in general. Rest easy Ray

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