Young hockey star dies during game
Published 14 October, 2008, 21:29
A 19-year-old Russian ice hockey player has died after his heart stopped during a game.
Aleksey Cherepanov, first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers, who played for Omsk Avangard, died on Monday during a Continental Hockey League game in Russia.
Having scored the first goal in the game, Cherepanov lost consciousness on the substitutes' bench shortly after he bumped into one of his team mates, Jaromir Jagr, on the rink.
Former Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr, who now plays for Avangard, was talking to his young teammate on the bench when Cherepanov suddenly collapsed, said a Rangers spokesman who’d spoken to Jagr.
The Avangard forward was taken to hospital, but it was already too late.
The relatives of Cherepanov will receive an amount equal to his two-year contract as compensation for his death, according to the Regulations of the Continental Hockey League (KHL), said KHL Head, Vladimir Shalaev.
However, Shalaev said that “no money could compensate the parents for the death of their 19-year-old boy”.
Who is to blame ?
A leading official of the Russian Hockey Federation, Pavel Krashennikov, said that there was no ambulance near the stadium where the match was held, which is a serious violation.
Vesti TV channel reported that the ambulance arrived 15 minutes later with no electroshock equipment in it. Moscow radio City-FM reported that three doctors, who were working on the ambulance that tragic night, have been beaten up. They are said to have been attacked by an unidentified group of people on Tuesday morning.
There is also evidence that Aleksey Cherepanov suffered from ischemic heart disease. The Moscow region’s Prosecutor's Office has started a check of relevant documents. According to spokesperson Daria Zhukova, the prosecutors will look into how a person with such a serious disease was allowed onto ice.
Hockey’s rising star
Cherepanov was a rising star of Russian hockey. Last year he beat the previous scoring record for a rookie, and was part of the national junior team which took bronze in the World Cup.
New York Rangers said he'd figured in their future plans.
“Aleksey was an intelligent, energetic young man, with tremendous talent and an extremely bright future,” said Rangers general manager Glen Sather to the media. “We are extremely saddened.”
Fact box
Aleksey Cherepanov was born on January 15, 1989, in Altai region.
He learned to play hockey at Omsk Avangard sports school.
He started to play in Avangard's first team in 2006 and was named 'best rookie' of the 2006-2007 season.
In 2007 he was a first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers .
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