Sergei Zholtok, 31; Center for Nashville Predators in the NHL

Sergei Zholtok, 31, a center with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League, died Wednesday in Minsk, Belarus, of an apparent heart ailment. He was 31.

Zholtok excused himself from a game and collapsed on the way to the locker room, Latvian media reported. Paramedics tried unsuccessfully to revive him. Zholtok was playing for HC Riga 2000 during the current NHL lockout.

Zholtok missed games twice last year while playing with the Minnesota Wild, and suffered from dizziness and fatigue. On one occasion he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat.

Zholtok, a native of Riga, appeared in 588 NHL games from 1992 to 2004 with Boston, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Minnesota and Nashville. He joined the Predators on March 5 in a trade with Minnesota.

In 70 games last season with the Wild and Predators, Zholtok had 14 goals and 17 assists. For his career, he had 111 goals and 147 assists.

In recent years, Zholtok had joined with fellow countryman and former Carolina Hurricanes goalie Arturs Irbe to organize an online auction of hockey memorabilia to benefit abused children in Latvia. They collected pucks, sticks and equipment autographed by more than 115 NHL players from 18 teams.