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Hockey world reacts to Kobe Bryant's stunning death

Basketball legend and sporting icon Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday morning.

Bryant was reportedly traveling with eight other people in his private chopper. The pilot and all passengers — including, horribly, Kobe’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna — have been confirmed dead.

Gianna was a familiar face courtside, at press conferences, and in photos throughout and following her father’s esteemed NBA career. Bryant has coached Gianna’s AAU basketball team for the past two years and the two were en route to a game, along with at least one teammate of Gianna’s and one of her parents, when the crash took place.

Kobe was 41.

In the minutes and hours after the devastating news started trickling out, those across the sports world, including the NHL, reacted to the mammoth loss of an athletic and cultural behemoth.

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