Trust fund established in memory of ex-Redmen Feb 13, 07 Ice Hockey (M)

By Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL -- A trust fund has been established for the three-year-old daughter of former McGill defenceman Martin Trudel, who died Jan. 23 of brain cancer at the age of 33, leaving behind his wife Manon and daughter Emma.

"Martin was the toughest, hard-nosed defencemen for the Redmen of the 1990s," said long-time McGill head coach Martin Raymond. "A fierce competitor and a greatly respected teammate, he was reknown for thunderous bodychecks and smart positional play. His leadership abilities were apparent very early in his career with us and his teammates will always remember him as a man of character."

Former Redmen players Benoit Leroux and Jean-Guy Daigneault have established a Registered Education Savings Plan for Trudel's young daughter. Contributions, made payable to "Universitas Foundation", can be sent to the attention of Benoit Leroux, c/o KPMG Tower, 600 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Suite 1500, Montréal, Quebec H3A 0A3. Please indicate "Emma Trudel" on the bottom of the cheque.

Trudel, originally from La Sarre, Que., joined the Redmen in 1994 and patrolled the blueline for three seasons before his career was cut short by constant headaches. In 75 career games with the Redmen, he had a 4-13-17 record with 104 penalty minutes. He earned Academic All-Canadian honours and made the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll. After graduating with a physical education degree, he went on to become a chiropractor.