Ranger prospect collapses, dies
Nineteen-year-old Russian forward Alexei Cherepanov, the New York Rangers' first-round draft choice in 2007 and considered one of the organization's top prospects, died yesterday after collapsing near the end of a game between his Kontinental Hockey League team Avangard Omsk and Vityaz in Chekhov, a city outside Moscow.
A report from the website of the Russian newspaper Gazeta said that Cherepanov fell unconscious three minutes from the end of regulation.
Cherepanov's heart stopped while he was sitting on the bench, according to the report. Efforts at the bench to revive him, including heart massage, were administered.
He was taken to a hospital in Chekhov, where doctors tried to save him for an hour, according to Gazeta. The newspaper reported that Cherepanov was pronounced dead at 10:55 p.m.
The Russian website Allhockey.ru reported the cause of death as cardiac arrest.
According to the Russian daily Sport-Express, Cherepanov's collapse was not preceded by a collision with another player or blows to the head or chest.
The newspaper reported that Jaromir Jagr, the former Ranger who joined Avangard this season and was seen as a mentor to Cherepanov, was distraught and in tears after the game.
"To be so young and put up the kind of numbers he was putting up at the top level in Russia was just amazing," said Cherepanov's agent Jay Grossman. "He was on track to being a star with the Rangers, and he knew that's what he wanted."
A Canadian sports network reported that the ambulance normally at all Vityaz games had already departed and had to be called back. Russian reports have not included that detail.
Cherepanov was an elite player for his age. In 2006-07, he set the Russian Superliga record for most goals by a rookie with 18, besting a mark held by Pavel Bure. His 29 points in his rookie season were more than Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin had in their first RSL campaigns.
Material from TSN.ca was used in this report. 