A former player for the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks was killed Saturday in a vehicle crash in Tennessee.
Nic Kerdiles played for the team in 2017 after being drafted in 2012, according to Deadline.
In addition to playing in the NHL, Kerdiles made headlines during the years he was in a relationship with reality TV star Savannah Chrisley of the former USA Network series “Chrisley Knows Best” and the spin-off “Growing Up Chrisley.”
The crash in which Kerdlies was fatally injured occurred shortly after 3:30 a.m. Saturday in Nashville, according to WKRN-TV.
Police said a motorcycle operated by Kerdiles went through a stop sign and struck the side of a BMW SUV.
Kerdiles was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and later died there.
Kerdiles, who grew up Orange County, California, was the first Ducks player from the local area to skate in the uniform of the home team.
The Ducks posted the team’s condolences Saturday to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
We’re heartbroken to hear the news about Nic Kerdiles, who died in a motorcycle accident this morning. An Irvine native, Nic became the first player from Orange County to play for the Ducks, in 2017. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/LMcJ47cKkt
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) September 23, 2023
“We’re heartbroken to hear the news about Nic Kerdiles, who died in a motorcycle accident this morning,” the post stated.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his family and loved ones.”
Kerdiles, whose family moved to California when he was a child, played Division I hockey at Wisconsin before being picked as the 36th player taken in the NHL draft in 2012, Deadline reported.
His career hampered by injuries, Kerdiles played one regular season game with Anaheim in 2017 as well as four playoff games. He played in two regular season games with the Ducks in the next season, according to Deadline.
Kerdiles was later traded to the Winnipeg Jets, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Savannah Chrisley is mourning the tragic loss of her ex-fiancé Nic Kerdiles. Click the link for more from her heartbreaking tribute: https://t.co/kpvW1JZPPf pic.twitter.com/z85SBSIfDP
— E! News (@enews) September 23, 2023
Fox News noted that Kerdiles and Chrisley started dating in 2017, announced in 2018 they were engaged and ended the engagement in 2020.
“Heaven gained the most beautiful angel today. I miss you and I love you,” Chrisley posted on social media after Kerdiles died.
“I’ll forever save our last messages of ‘I love you’… Please send me a sign that you’re ok… maybe it’ll be thru a ham and cheese crepe.. or pasta with white sauce… or maybe even your favorite carrot cake,” she wrote.
“We loved hard…and I can’t wait to ride bikes along the beaches of heaven with you one day,” she wrote.
