Tragedy has struck over the weekend as it was announced that former Anaheim Ducks left winger Nic Kerdiles died in a motorcycle accident. He was 29.
The Nashville Police Department said to TMZ that Kerdiles passed away early Saturday morning as a result of injuries sustained following an accident around 3:30 AM, when they say he ran his motorcycle through a stop sign in a residential area north of central Nashville.
Police said that Kerdiles struck a BMW. He was transferred to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Police noted no signs of intoxication with either driver after the accident.
Born in Lewisville, Texas, Kerdiles then lived in France for a few years before his family moved to Irvine, CA when he was six. He was drafted by the Ducks in the second round of the 2012 NHL Draft following his time with the U.S. National Team Development Program. He then played two seasons of NCAA hockey with the Wisconsin Badgers, then spent seven years in the Ducks’ organization, playing in three regular-season NHL games (and becoming the first Orange County-raised player to play for the Ducks), four NHL playoff games, and 178 AHL regular-season games, and 22 AHL playoff games. He was traded to the Winnipeg Jets ahead of the 2018 NHL draft, and finished his career by playing three games with their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, that fall.
Kerdiles became more known as reality star Savannah Chrisley’s boyfriend on her family’s show “Chrisley Knows Best.” The two began dating in 2017, and were engaged for two years before calling it off. But they remained in contact.
Chrisley wrote her own tribute to Kerdiles on social media.
She wrote, “Heaven gained the most beautiful angel today … I miss you and I love you.””I’ll forever save our last messages of ‘I love you.’ please send me a sign that you’re ok. “We loved hard … and I can’t wait to ride bikes with you along the beaches of heaven one day.”