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<p>Ryan Stone hadn&#8217;t spoken to Dave Gove in about a year.</p><p>He wishes he would have.</p><p>Gove, 38, passed away on Thursday from an apparent drug overdose while staying in a rehabilitation facility in Pittsburgh, according to a report from KDKA-TV.</p><p>Gove played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for two seasons from 2007-09. He was a key part of the team&#8217;s run to the Calder Cup Finals in 2008 and served as captain in the 2008-09 season. Gove also served as assistant coach and head coach of the Wheeling Nailers last season, stepping down in April 2016 for personal reasons.</p><p>Stone, 32, was Gove&#8217;s teammate for both seasons in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and like many who knew him, the news of his passing came as a shock.</p><p>&#8220;I had no idea how bad it was. Over the last 24 hours, I&#8217;ve been asking myself how could this happen?&#8221; Stone said. &#8220;Me and Dave haven&#8217;t talked for a year.</p><p>&#8220;I kick myself wondering if there was something I could&#8217;ve done.&#8221;</p><p>Gove&#8217;s hockey career came to an end while he was with the Penguins. He suffered a back injury during the first half of the 2008-09 season and was limited to 20 games and spent the season as an assistant coach under Dan Bylsma and later, Todd Reirden after Bylsma went up to coach Pittsburgh.</p><p>When he was in Wilkes-Barre at the start of the 2015-16 season, Gove spoke about how Bylsma encouraged him to get into coaching after his career ended in 2008.</p><p>Bylsma recalled the conversation.</p><p>&#8220;What Dave was for our team was a leader and a student of the game. I believed that would translate into coaching,&#8221; Bylsma said. &#8220;When Dave came to Wilkes-Barre he was somewhat of an older guy, and he had always been a smaller guy. But through his hard work and knowledge fo the game he found ways to have success.&#8221;</p><p>After his hockey career was over Gove, who was from Centerville, Massachusetts, worked in real estate before getting involved in coaching at the start of the 2015-16 season when he was named assistant coach for the Wheeling Nailers.</p><p>Bylsma said he had intermittent contact with Gove over the years, most recently prior to the 2015-16 season.</p><p>&#8220;He let me know he was getting back into coaching,&#8221; Bylsma said. &#8220;I was excited for him and the opportunity he had to get back into the game.&#8221;</p><p>Gove served under Clark Donatelli in Wheeling and eventually was promoted to head coach after Donatelli was promoted to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.</p><p>&#8220;I spent three months with him. He wanted to learn, and he asked a lot of questions. It was a pleasure to work with him,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;A really smart guy. It&#8217;s just a sad situation. Awful.&#8221;</p><p>Several current Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins played under Gove while he was the head coach at Wheeling last season.</p><p>Sahir Gill, who played in 24 games for Wheeling last season, said Gove cared greatly for his players and worked hard to try to get them to the next level.</p><p>What made Gove special, according to Gill, is he cared for the well-being of his players both on and off the ice. He called Gove a &#8220;fun guy to play for&#8221; and said Thursday&#8217;s news hit hard.</p><p>&#8220;Everyone that played for him have their heads down a little bit. It&#8217;s something you never want to see happen,&#8221; Gill said.</p><p>One aspect that made Gove so beloved by his players and the Pittsburgh organization was the hard work he put in to build his hockey career. Gove wasn&#8217;t drafted by an NHL team, and he worked his way up through the minor leagues to become a pro. He appeared in two games with the Carolina Hurricanes and was given a Stanley Cup ring when the team won the championship in 2006.</p><p>Gove became entrenched in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton history when he joined the team at the trade deadline during the 2007-08 season and went on to become a key contributor as the Penguins reached the Calder Cup Finals, losing to the Chicago Wolves in six games.</p><p>Stone, who was roommates with Gove that season, said joining a team late in the season wasn&#8217;t an easy thing to do.</p><p>&#8220;Before Dave got to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, we were a very close-knit group. For a guy to come in halfway through the year and become a part of our family speaks highly of Dave&#8217;s character,&#8221; Stone said. &#8220;He was a phenomenal person who was able to represent such a great organization in Wilkes-Barre.&#8221;</p><p>Dennis Bonvie, who was also a member of the 2007-08 Penguin team, said Gove was known for his work ethic on the ice and his joyful demeanor away from the rink.</p><p>&#8220;He was very beloved and a great teammate both on and off the ice. Always had a smile on his face,&#8221; Bonvie said. &#8220;To hear about this happening to such a terrific person, it&#8217;s heart-breaking.&#8221;</p><p><ins>For other local news stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/local" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins captain Dave Gove was found dead after an apparent drug overdose on Thursday at a rehabilitation facility in Pittsburgh. Gove played for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from 2007-09. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Gove1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins captain Dave Gove was found dead after an apparent drug overdose on Thursday at a rehabilitation facility in Pittsburgh. Gove played for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from 2007-09. </caption0><photoCredit0>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>What they remember about former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin captain Dave Gove:</strong></p><p>&#8220;Dave was an example to younger players for how to work and how to be a good person off the ice. That&#8217;s what made him a good captain.&#8221; &#8212; Buffalo Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma, who coached Gove in 2008-09.</p><p>&#8220;He came in here and we became rommates. It was almost an instant bond. He was so willing to help anybody, sign every autograph and do anything. The following year he was our captain. That tells you a lot when a team goes on a deep playoff run and he becomes captain the following season.&#8221; &#8212; former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton teammate Ryan Stone.</p><p>It&#8217;s very unfortunate to hear. Just a terrific guy and a great teammate who was very beloved on and off the ice. He always had a smile on his face.&#8221; &#8212; former teammate Dennis Bonvie.</p><p>I spent three months with him (in Wheeling). He wanted to learn and he asked a lot of questions. It was a pleasure to work with him. Couldn&#8217;t ask for a better assistant coach.&#8221; &#8212;Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli.</p><p>&#8220;He cared about everyone as people and players. Everyone really appreciated the effort he put in trying to get everyone to the next level. A real fun guy to play for.&#8221; - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Sahir Gill, who played under Gove in Wheeling last season.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Former teammates, coach remember Dave Gove