R.I.P Alexei Cherepanov
I've been on vacation for the past week, but there's a lot to write about. We spent the last week in the mountains without any personal connections to the real world (aside from the radio). It's a nice change.
During a game of Scrabble, my dad got out The NY Daily News and asked me if I'd seen an article. I picked it up, saw that Cherepanov had died, and had a hard time controlling my emotions. I never got to see the kid play, but in one small instant, I was overwhelmed by feelings of empathy. I thought about his parents, and his dad who had to race in his truck for several hours to get to the rink, long after his son had died. I thought about the fans in the stands and I thought about the team. I even spent a long time thinking about Jaromir Jagr. I loved Jagr back when I used to watch both Pens and Flyers games-- but I could never respect him for how he chose to leave the franchise. He was really the Manny Ramirez of hockey. I thought about how he must have felt, a relatively old man serving as a mentor to a young player with his whole life and career in front of him.
It's been a long time since a player so talented and so young has been lost like this. Sure, there was Luc Bourdon's motorcycle accident, Pelle Lindbergh's car crash, and Jiri Fischer's near-death. Accidents happen. But a 19 year-old's heart stopping is something completely different.
Pens fans should be thinking about this one. It was just last year that Cherepanov got picked right before Angelo Esposito, the Pens eventual first-round pick. This could have been your player. Not that team preferences play any role in the mourning process, but I couldn't help but think that could have been any of our boys. The thought is so terrifying, especially considering that Cherepanov's condition didn't show up at all during the NHL Combine.
To that end, as hokey as it may seem, I've written a letter Commissioner Buttman, the NHLPA and the AHL begging them to review all their emergency procedures. I feel it's the least I can do as a fan. I know that playing in the NHL is not at all like playing in the KHL, as far as conditions are concerned, but one can never be too prepared. As far as I know, defibs and trained staff are mandated by the league. But it wouldn't hurt to review the policies and consider additional emergency services that our players may one day need. The hockey community has already experienced this tragedy, it should never have experience another one.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
During a game of Scrabble, my dad got out The NY Daily News and asked me if I'd seen an article. I picked it up, saw that Cherepanov had died, and had a hard time controlling my emotions. I never got to see the kid play, but in one small instant, I was overwhelmed by feelings of empathy. I thought about his parents, and his dad who had to race in his truck for several hours to get to the rink, long after his son had died. I thought about the fans in the stands and I thought about the team. I even spent a long time thinking about Jaromir Jagr. I loved Jagr back when I used to watch both Pens and Flyers games-- but I could never respect him for how he chose to leave the franchise. He was really the Manny Ramirez of hockey. I thought about how he must have felt, a relatively old man serving as a mentor to a young player with his whole life and career in front of him.
It's been a long time since a player so talented and so young has been lost like this. Sure, there was Luc Bourdon's motorcycle accident, Pelle Lindbergh's car crash, and Jiri Fischer's near-death. Accidents happen. But a 19 year-old's heart stopping is something completely different.
Pens fans should be thinking about this one. It was just last year that Cherepanov got picked right before Angelo Esposito, the Pens eventual first-round pick. This could have been your player. Not that team preferences play any role in the mourning process, but I couldn't help but think that could have been any of our boys. The thought is so terrifying, especially considering that Cherepanov's condition didn't show up at all during the NHL Combine.
To that end, as hokey as it may seem, I've written a letter Commissioner Buttman, the NHLPA and the AHL begging them to review all their emergency procedures. I feel it's the least I can do as a fan. I know that playing in the NHL is not at all like playing in the KHL, as far as conditions are concerned, but one can never be too prepared. As far as I know, defibs and trained staff are mandated by the league. But it wouldn't hurt to review the policies and consider additional emergency services that our players may one day need. The hockey community has already experienced this tragedy, it should never have experience another one.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.