Russian league probes Cherepanov's death
Bloomberg
Published: Thursday, October 16, 2008Alexei Cherepanov, the New York Rangers first-round pick who died during a game Monday, was buried Wednesday in the western Siberian city of Omsk as Russia's hockey league questioned teams' officials.
The State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, said it will examine why medical personnel were not present at the game venue, state broadcaster Vesti-24 reported on its website.
Cherepanov, 19, who was sitting on the bench, died of "acute heart failure" after collapsing and had sustained no game injuries, the Continental Hockey League said in a statement on its website.
His Avangard Omsk club was playing near Moscow against Vityaz Chekhov.
The league expected to get additional information about what happened during the game from Avangard and Vityaz team officials, it said in the statement without elaborating. It added it would not comment on the probe without clearance from law enforcement agencies overseeing the investigation.
The league said an ambulance had been away from its post at the time Cherepanov, the 17th overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft, collapsed.
Cherepanov, a forward, appeared in 14 games with Avangard Omsk this season, getting seven goals and five assists.




