Ranger Prospect-Star Alex Cherepanov Dies – Former NY Star Jaromir Jagr To Blame?
On a day when the 4-0-0 New York Rangers should have been excitedly preparing for their cross-river rival New Jersey Devils, they were instead mourning the loss of one of the brightest lights in the future of their historic franchise. Monday night in Russia, the hockey world lost one of its top talents when Ranger prospect Alexei Cherepanov suffered an apparent heart attack during a game against Russin pro-team Avangard Omsk road-game.
The enigmatic 19-year old right winger had a brilliant future ahead of him, already rated as the top European talent in the 2007 draft, having already scored more points than Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin during his first year in the Russian League. What stood out most about this young Russian-born skater was his superstar aura that emanated confidence, intelligence, competitiveness, and a respectable personality both on and off the ice.
But perhaps the strangest, most eerie happening during Cherepanov’s fatal night came when he was first put into a state of emergency. Skating in the third period of a KHL game against Chekhov Vityaz, Cherepanov was purportedly involved in an accidental collision with teammate, and former Ranger marquee fixture, Jaromir Jagr. Cherepanov immediately went down to the ice and later lost consciousness, turning almost white, as teammates and trainers tried to revive the young star on the bench. Again, Jagr was sitting next to young Alexei on the bench.
Russian media outlets report that he was rushed to the hospital and died of commotio cordis, a sudden disturbance of heart rhythm. But the only disturbance of note was the incidental hit administered by the Rangers newly-jettisoned Jagr. In a strange and unexpected turn of events, the Rangers discarded Jagr, their star player of the past three seasons, to Avangard Omsk this offseason, while they sat and waited for Cherepanov, their star player of the future, to leave Omsk for New York in 2009-10.
So in a Shakespearean moment, the world lost one of its most gifted children on a twist in the gods that will undoubtedly alter the future of health testing in the sport. Jagr, denied by the Rangers to be brought back to New York this year, the same man who collided with Cherepanov, unfortunately appears to have helped unfold the worst case scenario. On a night when all seemed well in Rangerland, one cannot help but feel sadness for the family of this young man, his teammates in Omsk, and the family of the New York Rangers.
EDITOR UPDATE: Depsite the fact that the some of the major publications have retracted or failed to include reports of a collision, we stand by the original report. Don’t believe us? Check this out.
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Leave it to the Russian authorities to make this the weirdest on-ice death EVER. A 19 yr old with one of the rarest heart deaths known to man??? Uhhhhh ok. Thanks Jagr, you are a douche.
Okay, this article is obviously full of lies. First off, there IS no apparent cause of death. Second, there WAS NO collision on the ice, he did NOT collapse on the ice nor turn white. None of those details are available. This might be the most irresponsible, poorest excuse of journalism ever. You should be ashamed, and consider yourselves lucky if you don't get sued for libel once details come out and prove this article to be untrue.
there actually was a collision on the ice – I think there is actually a short story on an ESPN feed on that. The same story links to a Russian sports site, they said he collapsed on the ice.
You should do a little research yourself before you throw libel around dude.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=36415…
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/rangers/…
DUDE – did you read those Flyers boards?
http://forums.philadelphiaflyers.com/lofiversion/…
Ok – saw the hit, and it was clearly accidental, but it was a pretty legit head blow no matter how you look at it.
Jagr must be crushed with guilt through all of this. One of the strangest deaths that I have seen in a while. Not sure if Jagr is to "blame," but people will, especially in the NY media. What is worse is the BS excuse the Russians came up with – the heart condition they said he had would have killed him the first time he EVER played hockey. It was probably a brain bleed from getting KTFO and then maybe the clot ran to his heart. It is a little more common than people know and creates a "floating aneurysm" or a stroke.
RE: Bill
Bill, try reading the article and not the image. These are way valid questions and there was absolutely a collision. No, I wouldn't say with what I know that Jagr is to blame, but as I read the article, it does not accuse Jagr, only asks the question based on an erie set of unusual, maybe coincidental events that happened in a region that is historically known for presenting an extremely liberal version of the truth.
JT, youre a sad excuse for a human being. If there was indeed a collision it was obvkously AN ACCIDENT. Try to think that one through before posting something so stupid and juvenile.
totally right – hadnt watched the video before – total accident
There was no collision. Russian investigators said Cherepanov suffered from chronic ischemia, a medical condition in which not enough blood gets to the heart or other organs.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/10/14/…