Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark issues a statement after taking leave of absence

In case you missed it, Buffalo Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark announced earlier this week that he was taking a leave of absence from the team due to personal reasons. Since then Sabres fans haven't had any information to go off of... until today.

Ullmark released a statement through the Sabres' website thanking the team for support while he deals with the sudden death of his Father in his native Sweden. Ullmark was informed of his father's passing immediately after the Sabres' game day skate in Philadelphia on Monday.

"I had my worst pregame skate in my whole life, probably," he said. "Usually when these things sort of happen, with me, there's always been a common theme, and that's been that my dad has either been very sick or that something bad has happened back home. I sensed that something was wrong."

After the skate Ullmark checked his phone and saw a missed call from his Mother.

"The hunch that I had was true," he said. "She just wanted to call me and say that that afternoon, Dad left us. He left us around 5 very peacefully, calmly with her by his side."

Ullmark was scheduled to play that evening, but he immediately told the team he would not be available.

"There was no question about it for me, personally," he said. "…I just told them that hockey's not a priority at the time. From there, it was basically just trying to deal with all the emotions that came. I've been kind of holding back."

"Same thing for [Tuesday's] game as well. I was in a better place, but not in the state of mind that I felt that I could go out there and perform the way I wanted to," Ullmark said. "And, also, that I wasn't done dealing with the emotions and the thoughts that I had - still have - regarding all this."

Man... you have to feel for this kid. 

Anyone who has ever lost a parent or close family member will tell you that you don't know exactly how or in what ways it will affect you. While some people play on the day of a tragic event like this, others simply have a difficult time getting out of bed. For others the grief doesn't hit for weeks, months or even years. 

In any case, kudos to Ullmark for opening up in this way and an even bigger kudos to the Sabres organization for enabling their player to process his emotions his own way. Big respect to both parties on this one.

Ullmark is planning on practicing with the team later today and will travel to Washington D.C. for the Sabres upcoming two game series against the Washington Capitals. It's not yet known if he'll be in the lineup or not.