Parm Dhaliwal, 23, died of an overdose in New York, July 30, 2022.

Image Credit: Twitter/BCHL

A former West Kelowna Warriors player is being remembered as a kind-hearted person who included everyone.

Surrey resident Parmjot Dhaliwal, 23, was found dead at the Hyatt Grand Hotel in New York, July 30.

The West Kelowna Warriors Junior ‘A’ Hockey Club is honouring Dhaliwal, Saturday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. when the Warriors host the Penticton Vees.

READ MORE: Former West Kelowna Warriors player dies from overdose

Dhaliwal played three seasons for the Warriors from 2016 to 2019. In his three seasons, he scored 38 goals and had 82 assists in 148 games before a series of concussions cut his hockey career short.

Wyatt Head, a Warriors defenseman, played with Dhaliwal for those years and remembers him as kind-hearted, funny and as a person who always had something to say.

“You couldn’t find a teammate from when he was five until 23 that didn’t love that guy… he always kept the room light,” he said.

The two stayed in touch after Dhaliwal left the team and have a solid connection, playing in the same spring hockey and Midget tournaments while growing up.

Chase Johnston, who does communications for the West Kelowna Warriors, said Dhaliwal was the first person to introduce himself on the team when Johnston arrived in 2018 during a tumultuous time when the Warriors changed ownership.

“He was a major part of that team, he was our number one centre… he’s the guy that every coach wanted… he was one of the guys who made every one of the players better,” Johnston said.

He was a player who wasn’t flashy but able to do everything right, he said.

He also had plans for engineering and was focusing on university with the end of his hockey career.

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“The tribute game is something we want to do for Parm. If we had an all-time roster… I think Parm would make that roster,” he said.

The New York Police Department determined he was found deceased from an apparent overdose, said detective Francis Sammon, in a previous interview with iNFOnews. He was on vacation with friends at the time.

Both Johnston and Head were shocked to learn of his death.

“It didn’t feel real, I just stopped and froze and went down for a second,” Head said.

Both declined to comment on the nature of his death.

“It’s tragic, it’s horrible and from just talking around the community here… Parm is the last person you’ll think would get into any trouble like that. Parm was pretty straight edge,” Johnston said.

“It was a little shocking to me… because that’s never what Parm was known for, he was just a great human being,” Head said.

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