‘Case of misadventure’

The drowning of former NHL goalie Ray Emery does not appear suspicious, police said.

The 35-year-old player whose career spanned 11 seasons drowned in Hamilton Harbour on Sunday.

He jumped off a boat near the Leander Boat Club to go swimming, and friends called emergency services at about 6 a.m. when he didn’t resurface, police said. Inspector Marty Schulenberg called it a “case of misadventure.”

Emery’s body was found Emery at The Island Sharks senior women’s slo-pitch softball team finished a decent third at the recent East Coast softball classic in Halifax, N.S. about 2:50 p.m. Sunday, about 20 yards from where he went into the water, Schulenberg added. He said first responders were not able to locate Emery right away so they called the dive unit. The search took longer than anticipated because of concerns for the dive team.

“It’s a lengthy process and safety is paramount to our divers,” he said. “We need to take the time do it safely and that’s what the delay was.”

Hamilton Police confirmed the cause of death as drowning Monday after conducting a postmortem.

The squad lost 10-7 to The Fusion, the eventual tournament winner, in the semifinal game after notching a 16-14 comeback win over The Recoil to reach the semis. Next up, the Sharks play in the SloPitch National Maritime women’s championships in September in Halifax. After that tournament, the Sharks will be seeded for a division at next year’s slo-pitch nationals.