Junior player's family forced to be bury their son in Canada after issues with Canadian government

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Josh tupper
December 26, 2022 (10:02)

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Last weekend the London Knights and Ontario Hockey League made the heartbreaking announcement of the passing of 18-year-old Abakar Kazbekov. The London Knights forward's body was found on the sidewalk outside of a high rise condo after apparently falling from a balcony. The family of Abakar worked hard to try and retrieve their son's body, but according to his father Zaur they were unsuccessful.

Zaur told Ria Novatsi that he was forced to bury his son in Toronto.

We buried Abakar in Toronto, December 22. It would have been too long to transport him to Dagestan - the holidays in Canada (Christmas), registration of all the necessary documents. I want to point out that the representatives of our consulate were very supportive.

But the paperwork took too long in Canada, and according to Islamic rites the body had to be buried as soon as possible. And my family gave me permission to bury Abakar in Toronto.

The London Police have not provided an official cause of death, but police have confirmed there was no foul play involved and they were not investigating a murder. Players on the team and friends of Abakar have shared multiple posts about suicide prevention since Abakar's passing.

Abakar came to North America at the age of 15 to further his hockey career. He was the Knights 1st pick in the 2021 Draft. Unfortunately injuries had limited his time with the team as he battled through issues for the last couple seasons.

Our thoughts continue to be with the Kazbekov family.

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