News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. May 8, 2020: Haitian roots former NHL Georges Laraque is out of a Canadian hospital after luckily beating the coronavirus.
He describes feelings of gasping for air as “one of the worst feelings.”
Laraque is now resting at home in self-isolation in Montreal, Canada. “It’s just awesome to be back after those first hard days that I had,” he said in a video posted to his Facebook page.
The former NHL enforcer was admitted to a hospital on Montreal’s south shore on April 30th after he experienced COVID-19 symptoms while delivering groceries to vulnerable people in his community. Because the has asthma, Laraque was at a higher risk of the disease.
He played in the league for 13 seasons, spending the majority of them with the Edmonton Oilers. During his NHL career, he was nicknamed “Big Georges,” sometimes shortened to “BGL.” Drafted by the Oilers on July 8, 1995 (second round, #31 pick overall). He retired on August 2, 2010
The Canadian Hockey League Players’ Association named Laraque its first executive director on August 21, 2012. On October 15, 2016, Laraque, who became a vegan in 2009, co-founded Mentorum and owns a series of health and fitness related businesses, including “Rise” Kombucha and his own vegan restaurant in Montreal. Laraque’s parents were both born in Haiti and immigrated to Canada. He was born in Montreal, Quebec.
