Former Minnesota Wild center Sergei Zholtok, who was a major fan favorite in his years in St. Paul, died today on the ice in Belarus, a victim of what appears to be heart failure. Zholtok once fainted in the runway of the Xcel Energy Center, and was subsequently diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. According to the press reports, Zholtok died in the arms of former Wild center and Minnesota native Darby Hendrickson, who was also playing in Belarus during the NHL lockout.

I’ll miss him, and I know a lot of other hockey fans will as well. Zholtok was a fun player to watch, a truly dedicated athlete, and a classic hockey guy in the way he treated the public who came out to watch him work. He would have wanted it mentioned here that he was one of only four Latvian players in the league. He was also apparently a devoted family man, and he left behind a wife and two sons. Sergei Zholtok was 31.