October 13, 2008

Top Rangers' Draft Pick Dies During Game: Alexei Cherepanov, 19, the first-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2007 and one of the top prospects in the franchise, died today after collapsing on the bench during a game in Chekhov, Russia. The cause of death was cardiac arrest. "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 his agent Jay Grossman. “He was on track to being a star."

posted by rcade to hockey at 06:47 PM - 5 comments

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posted by BoKnows at 07:13 PM on October 13, 2008

Oh my goodness. In a world where medically we seem to be able to catch most things in their early stages, how can something like this happen?

Does it just ... happen?

posted by wfrazerjr at 08:17 PM on October 13, 2008

Does it just ... happen?

Unfortunately, yes. Some may recall that this happened during a game to Jiri Fischer of the Red Wings in the 05-06 season. Thankfully for Fischer, he was resuscitated at the site of his collapse by the use of CPR and a defibrillator. Here is a relatively recent article about his current role in player development for the Wings.

That is just awful about Cherepanov.

posted by holden at 09:16 PM on October 13, 2008

Does it just ... happen?

Unfortunately, there are way too many examples of this just happening, including another here: sports.espn.go.com

Thanks for the update on Fischer, holden.

posted by BoKnows at 09:55 PM on October 13, 2008

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posted by tommybiden at 05:28 PM on October 14, 2008

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