A 10-year-old boy from Guelph, Ont. is dead after being hit in the head with a hockey puck on the weekend.
Nicholas Lambden was playing hockey with his friends at an outdoor rink on Sunday when he was struck by a stray puck from another group of players.
Guelph police Sgt. Cate Welsh confirmed that Lambden was not wearing a helmet at the time.
The boy was revived at the scene by emergency personnel and then airlifted to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children where he died on Monday.
"Nicholas touched many hearts with his passion for life, adventure and sports -- especially hockey,'' his father, Andrew Lambden, said through tears by telephone.
"Beautiful Nick is flying with angels. We love you forever and ever."
Guelph City councillor Bob Bell represents the ward where Lambden was killed and he says the incident reinforces the need for children to wear helmets while playing on ice.
"I think kids should wear helmets when they're playing hockey," he said. "Kids and parents need to associate helmets with skates as they associate helmets with bikes.''
Funeral arrangements have not been made yet.
The incident marks the second hockey-related death in Ontario in less than two months.
Last December, 17-year-old Alex Corrance died of an apparent heart attack during a hockey tournament in east Toronto.
To compound the tragedy, his father raced from behind the bench to help. However, he didn't know it was his own son who had collapsed.
With files from The Canadian Press
