Alexei Cherepanov is dead at 19

The Rangers 2007 first round draft pick died today near the end of Omsk’s KHL game. He and Jaromir Jagr collided right before the incident.

From Puck Daddy:

According to comments on SportBox.ru it was [Jaromir] Jagr’s elbow. Jagr is Cherepanov’s teammate. Apparently Jagr didn’t see him. Afterwards Jagr was shouting “Wake up Alexei” and was in tears.

From Rangers Report:

We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei,” 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.

From TSN:

Sources in Russia tell TSN that the ambulance that is normally at all games had already departed and had to be called back.

It is not clear exactly how long it took for Cherepanov to be transported from the rink to the hospital but one source in the arena told TSN it was “probably 15 or 20 minutes.”

Also, there is some question as to whether defibrillators at the arena were in good working order.

No further details are available at this point.

I expect the Rangers will do something before tonight’s game against the Devils.

All of us here at 5-hole are deeply saddened by the news. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Alexei. This is truly terrible news.