Parm Dhaliwal, 23, died of an overdose in New York City on July 30, 2022.
Image credit: Twitter/BCHL
August 30, 2022 – 06:00
A former West Kelowna Warriors player is remembered as a generous person who understood everyone.
Parmjot Dhaliwal, 23, a Surrey resident, was found dead at the Hyatt Grand Hotel in New York on July 30.
The West Kelowna Warriors Junior “A” Hockey Club pays tribute to Dhaliwal on Saturday, October 1 at 7 p.m. when the Warriors host the Penticton Vees.
READ MORE: Former West Kelowna Warriors player dies of drug overdose
Dhaliwal played three seasons for the Warriors from 2016 to 2019. During his three seasons, he scored 38 goals and added 82 assists in 148 games before a series of concussions cut short his hockey career.
Wyatt Head, a Warriors defenseman, played with Dhaliwal during those years and remembers him as generous, funny and someone who always had something to say.
“You couldn’t find a teammate from age five to 23 who didn’t like this guy… he always kept the room light,” he said.
The two stayed in touch after Dhaliwal left the team and have a strong connection, playing in the same spring hockey and Midget tournaments while growing up.
Chase Johnston, who handles communications for the West Kelowna Warriors, said Dhaliwal was the first person to come to the team when Johnston arrived in 2018 at a tumultuous time when the Warriors changed ownership.
“He was a big part of this team, he was our number one center…he was the guy that all the coaches wanted…he was one of the guys who made every player better,” Johnston said.
He was a player who was not flashy but able to do everything right, he said.
He also had engineering projects and was focused on college with his hockey career winding down.
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“The tribute game is something we want to do for Parm. If we had an all-time roster…I think Parm would do that roster,” he said.
The New York Police Department determined he was found deceased of an apparent overdose, Detective Francis Sammon said in a previous interview with iNFOnews. He was on vacation with friends at the time.
Johnston and Head were shocked to learn of his death.
“It didn’t feel real, I just stopped, froze and went down for a second,” Head said.
Both declined to comment on the nature of his death.
“It’s tragic, it’s horrible and just talking around the community here… Parm is the last person you would think would get in trouble like this. Parm was pretty blunt,” Johnston said.
“It was kind of shocking to me…because that’s never what Parm was known for, he was just a great human being,” Head said.
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