Sad News Out of New York; As New York Rangers Hockey Prospect Alexei Cherepanov Dies During Hockey Games

It's very sad news that is coming out of Russia, as we have learned that a great National Hockey League (NHL) prospect has died at the tender age of 19. Alexei Cherepanov was playing in a Continental Hockey League game for the Avangard Omsk when he collapsed on the bench near the end of the game and died shortly there-after. The head coach, Wayne Fleming, reportedly stated that efforts to restart Cherepanov's heart after it had stopped were unsuccessful. Earlier in the game, Cherepanov had collided with a teammate while changing lines, and soon after had developed heart complications, but at this time it is not known if there was a link between the two occurrences.

In 2007, the New York Rangers of the American NHL drafted Alexei Cherepanov as their first round pick in the draft, and the 17th overall player taken that year. He also participated in the world junior championship that year for Team Russia, helping them to attain a silver medal by scoring 5 goals and dishing out 3 assists during the 6 games he played. Alexei Cherepanov was a forward, meaning he was a shooter for his teams, and the 19 year old had a lot of success before the Rangers decided to make him a first round pick. Before the draft, Alexei Cherepanov had set rookie scoring records in the Russian Super League with 18 goals, and 29 points overall.

The New York Rangers General Manager issued the following statement after heading the sad news: "We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei, 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.'' The news is quite sad because not only has the sport lost what could have been the next great NHL superstar, but a great kid has perished by a so-far unknown reason. He was very close to living his dream of playing in the NHL, and was simply spending time in the RSL to mature and prepare himself for the eventual leap to the big show.