Brent Pope: Former Cardiff Devils director, coach and player dies aged 49
- Published
Cardiff Devils have paid tribute to Brent Pope, a man who "wore many hats, figuratively and literally"
Cardiff Devils great Brent Pope has died aged 49 from cancer.
Pope originally joined Devils for the 1996-97 season as a player and went on to coach and manage the club over a period spanning 11 years in Cardiff.
"A big personality and a great character on and off the ice, Pope was a mainstay in British hockey for nearly two decades," read a Devils statement.
Devils will hold a minute's applause to honour Pope before Wednesday night's home game against Fife Flyers.
After helping Devils win the League title in his first playing season, two years later Pope was part of their Superleague Play-off Championship-winning side.
After stints with Nottingham Panthers and London Knights in the Superleague, then London and Basingstoke in the Elite League, he eventually returned to Cardiff as an assistant coach in the 2006-07 season.
Pope spent another seven years with Devils, originally as an assistant coach, then as general manager, head of the Community Foundation and eventually director of operations.
He even stepped behind the bench in his final season with Devils for a brief stint during the 2013-14 season.
Pope also excelled as a BBC Sport commentator for ice hockey at three Winter Olympics, sharing his expertise at 2006 Turin, 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi.