New York Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov suffered an apparent heart attack during a game Monday night in Russia, collapsing on the bench, and died. He was 19.
Alexei Cherepanov, the top-ranked European player in the 2007 draft, was the Rangers' first-round pick that year.
"We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei," Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather said in a statement. "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."
Cherepanov was the Rangers' first-round pick, 17th overall, in the 2007 draft.
Wayne Fleming, a former assistant with the Calgary Flames and with Canada's Olympic team who joined Avangard Omsk as the head coach earlier this month, said the team was playing against Vityav Chekov on the outskirts of Moscow when Cherepanov became ill late in the third period. Fleming said the young player sat down on the bench between former Rangers star Jaromir Jagr and Pavel Rosa and collapsed. "He passed out on the bench and they couldn't revive him," Fleming told ESPN.com. "He just laid back, passed out and went kind of white." He said a team of doctors tried to revive Cherepanov but couldn't. Cherepanov was taken to a local hospital where further attempts to revive him failed. "I saw him more as a person than a player," Fleming said. "He was a great, great player but he had the character of a special person." New York coach Tom Renney said his club was not aware of any health issues with Cherepanov. "He's a Ranger and I think it'll have an impact on people," Renney said. "We're going to have to deal with it in our own personal way, but in the interest of a bright, young life that's over we're going to have to pursue the objective of tonight and that's get two points from New Jersey. "The first thing we can do is honor him with a great effort tonight," Renney said. The Rangers wanted to bring Cherepanov to New York for their prospect evaluation camp or training camp, according to NHL.com, but couldn't because of the lack of a formal transfer agreement between the NHL and International Ice Hockey Federation. The Rangers had instead hoped to have Cherepanov for the 2009-10 season.New York assistant coach Mike Pelino recently returned from a one-week trip to Russia where he watched Cherepanov play and then dined with him and Jagr.
"I was shocked when I heard. I thought it must be a misprint or something because he just had so much going for him," Pelino said. "He was someone who I was really excited about and thought, 'Wow, we did get something special here.'
"He had things to work on. We felt he had to become a little stronger still, he had to probably become a little bit more aware defensively. But as far as raw talent went and the ability to score, he was great," Pelino said.
Cherepanov was the top-ranked European skater heading into the 2007 draft and had more points in his first year in the Russian league than Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. His 18 goals in 2006-07 broke Pavel Bure's RSL rookie scoring record.
"He was close to a complete package," Goran Stubb, NHL Director of European Scouting, told NHL.com. "Very fast skater. He was a goal-scorer and a passer.
"I think he could have been a big spectator favorite because he was that kind of player. Sometimes you could hardly notice him, but on one shift, he could do unbeliveable things with the puck -- passing, shooting, skating, extremely skillful. A finesse player with a capital 'F,'" Stubb said.
Renney kept tabs on Cherepanov every few weeks by checking in with Jagr and Fleming. Renney said Jagr told him that Cherepanov could probably play on New York's second line now.
Cherepanov had seven goals and five assists in 14 games with Avangard Omsk this season. In 106 career games with Avangard Omsk, he had 40 goals and 29 assists, as well as 61 penalty minutes. In the 2008 Under-20 World Junior Championships, he led Russia to a bronze medal.
"He was a great kid," Cherepanov's agent, Jay Grossman, told TSN of Canada. "He had a great smile and was an outstanding player with a great future on and off the ice. It's both shocking and devastating news for all of us."
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