Hockey
Violence At What Cost?
We know that hockey can and is dangerous, but at what degree should more focus on safety of the players be on our minds?
Interesting question and while it is a fast sport, it can also be extremely dangerous and not just from body checks or illegal or late hits by someone often less talented than the individual that they hit.
Such is the case as we are know hearing of a young hockey player from Russia who was struck and killed by a puck – yes a puck.
A Russian teenage ice hockey prospect has died in hospital three weeks after he was hit in the neck by a puck that was travelling at more than 100mph.
Alexander Orekhov, a junior with Metallurg Novokuznetsk in the KHL, suffered a broken neck in the second period of a game on 14 January.
The shot struck Orekhov, 16, with enough force that it “damaged the carotid artery and broke several bones”. Orekhov collapsed on the ice and suffered cardiac arrest.
He was resuscitated and taken to a local hospital, at which point he was put into a medically induced coma.
Orekhov remained in a coma in hospital in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third largest city. He never recovered, and died of heart failure.
“Today we lost Alexander to his injuries. We just want to express my deepest condolences to the family,” said Metallurg Novokuznetsk GM Vladimir Rokkel. “This is an irreplaceable loss for all of hockey.”
After the accident, the governor of the Kemerovo Oblast region in southwestern Siberia, Aman Tuleyev, promised to raise funds for Orekhov’s treatment.
But police confirmed that the teenager was declared dead and a spokesman said: “An investigation is ongoing into his death.”
Orekhov was regarded as one of the best players among his age group in the Far East region. He was slated to be eligible for the NHL entry draft in 2017.
Police said they were launching an inquiry surrounding his death.
It should be noted that in the USA only two players are reported to have died since 1995 – both from heart attacks after a puck hit their chests at high speed.