Ed Kea

Ed Kea
Born January 19, 1948
Weesp, NED
Died August 31, 1999 (aged 51)
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Atlanta Flames
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1969–1983

Adriaan Jozef Kea (January 19, 1948 in Weesp, Netherlands – August 31, 1999) was a former Dutch-Canadian ice hockey defenceman.

Born in Weesp, Netherlands but raised in Collingwood, Ontario (his family moved to Canada when he was four), Kea started his National Hockey League career with the Atlanta Flames. He also played with the St. Louis Blues. His career lasted from 1974 to 1983. Key is the father of Gabe Kea from Cincinnati, and uncle of Joe Nieuwendyk.

He was playing for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, the Blues' Central Hockey League affiliate in Salt Lake City in 1983 when he suffered severe head trauma when he fell and hit his head on the ice during a game. The injury left him physically and mentally disabled. Because he was playing in a minor league game, National Hockey League benefits for catastrophic injuries did not apply to his case, and he and his family struggled financially for several years because he was unable to hold a job.

On September 1, 1999, Kea accidentally drowned in the swimming pool of his family's summer home in Ontario, Canada. He was 51.

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