Monday, October 13, 2008

Alexei Cherepanov Passes Away

The 19-year-old Russian forward Alexei Cherepanov who was the New York Rangers 1st Round pick in 2007 has passed away today after collapsing during the Avangard Omsk game today.
Omsk head coach, Wayne Fleming said Cherepanov collapsed on the bench during the third period of the game and did not see anything that happened on the ice that may have contributed to it.

The Alex Ovetjkin Blog has a comment from sportsbox.ru story that says Jaromir Jagr's elbow struck Cherepanov.

According to comments on SportBox.ru it was Jagr's elbow. Jarg is Cherepanov's teammate. Apparently Jarg didn't see him. Afterwards Jagr was shouting "Wake up Alexei" and was in tears.
The biggest concern is was there a working defibrillator in the arena.

Here's the official statement from the New York Rangers:

“We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei,” said Sather. “On behalf of the New York Rangers organization, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family. Alexei was an intelligent, energetic young man, with tremendous talent and an extremely bright future.”
I want to send my sympathies to Alexei's family and friends. The New York Rangers, Avangard Omsk, and the Russian National Team lost a great player.

The 6-1, 187-pounder appeared in 106 career Russian Super League (RSL)/KHL matches with Avangard Omsk, collecting 40 goals and 29 assists for 69 points, along with 61 penalty minutes. Last season, Cherepanov established a career-high in assists (13) while finishing fourth on the club in points (28). In 2006-07, he set the RSL record for most goals by a rookie (18), eclipsing Pavel Bure’s mark (17) set in 1988-89 with the Red Army (CSKA Moscow).

Update 10:00pm: A video has popped up on Youtube of the training staff working on Cherepanov. Warning this video might not be suitable for some viewers.



(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Given the outcome, don't you think it would be prudent to take down the clip of the video. Its not very respectful, even if you do warn people, its not something that should really be spread around.

Nathan Fournier said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nathan Fournier said...

Thank you for your concerns. I stand by my decision. Media outlets have used this video in their reporting. I am not trying to spread anything just reporting. I am sure this video will be used in the upcoming weeks when people start talking about what could the KHL and the arena could of done better etc.

I ask you this should the media outlets and the History Channel not show the plans hit the Twin Towers because of the outcome? Or the JFK shooting? I know it's comparing apples and oranges but both are news stories.

JH29 said...

The Cherepanov and Bourdon accidents are tragic, for their families and the NHL. The question is whether these accidents can be prevented in the future. Maybe better testing on the NHL's part for the Cherepanov situation and educating the players (youngsters) on dangerous activities such as motorcycle etc... Just seems like more should/can be done to prevent tragedies like these from occuring in the future.... and it is ridiculous how the Rangers are seeking another pick to replace Cherepanov. My thoughts. http://jib-sports-culture.blogspot.com/2008/11/tragedy-for-promising-rookies.html