NHL Snyder's family giving Heatley their support

TORONTO (AP) -- The father and brother of Dan Snyder spoke publicly Wednesday for the first time since the Atlanta Thrashers forward died of injuries sustained in an auto accident with teammate Dany Heatley.
"I think Dan represented what a lot of us, especially in Canada as hockey parents or just as parents, idealize or dream about," Graham Snyder, Dan's father, said in the interview with TSN. "He was a testament to hard work, perseverance and chasing after his dreams."
Snyder died Oct. 5 at the age of 25 from head injuries suffered in the accident on Sept. 29 in Atlanta. Heatley, 22, was the driver and has been charged with vehicular homicide.
Have supported Heatley
The senior Snyder said his family has supported Heatley throughout and never blamed him for the accident.
"There's a number of reasons for that support," he said. "I think the main reason is that we understand that in life people make mistakes, they act foolishly sometimes, but when you look into their heart you can see, or we can see anyway, that Dany Heatley didn't have recklessness in his heart. It was an accident that happened.
"It's very difficult to deal with, but for Dany it's probably tougher to deal with than anybody else."
Heatley, the MVP of last year's NHL All-Star game, continues to recover from knee surgery and a broken jaw, injuries sustained in the accident. Heatley attended Snyder's funeral but has not yet spoken to the media.
"I speak to him on a semi-regular basis," said Jake Snyder, Dan's brother. "I think obviously he's having a very hard time dealing with this but I think it's helped him a lot going through rehab and being with all the players."