Thespeckledkiwi
Vice Admiral
stepchild...
Yes, I know the NHL is not popular in the United States and even though it has a large following in the international community, it is still not a big sport period. I have fired off an angry letter already to SI about their weak 'coverage' of the tragic death of Alexei Cherepanov but then realized, hey they might stick it in their magazine. So far, nope. Apparently the opening NBA season takes precedent over a growing problem in hockey. I didn't even see much of a blurb. Now, I know they could be preparing to put in their next magazine but in all seriousness, this is becoming a very disturbing trend in hockey.
So far we've had: Sergei Zholtok pass away in Lithuania during the lockout, raising a small concern and having the NHL mandate that defibulators be placed behind the bench. Then Jiri Fischer goes out two years later and nearly dies but because of Zholtok's tragic passing, they luckily had the equipment to stabalize his condition. Than tragically early this year, Micky Renaud in the OHL and prospect for the Calgary Flames collapsed in his home and died because of a heart problem. And now we come to Alexei Cherepanov, who also apparently had a heart problem himself.
If this was anything but the NHL, the networks would be on this 24/7, wondering what was to be done to prevent this from happening to players. Cherepanov was an International Star, Renaud was captain of his team. Zholtok was a good utility player and Fischer was a budding defensive star for the Red Wings, if not already.
I mean, seriously. Right now the big story breaking is the banned substance in the NFL. Great but this is a growing problem for the NHL and the IIHF that needs to be looked at seriously and they are getting no pressure from the media. It is tragic that 4 players have died or lost their career due to heart problems. And yet not a peep of this trend on any of the networks that I can tell.
The biggest story was when Kory Stringer of the Minnesota Vikings died from training camp and it exploded about heat exhaustion and such and the rigors of summer camp. And they still report every year...
Yes, I know the NHL is not popular in the United States and even though it has a large following in the international community, it is still not a big sport period. I have fired off an angry letter already to SI about their weak 'coverage' of the tragic death of Alexei Cherepanov but then realized, hey they might stick it in their magazine. So far, nope. Apparently the opening NBA season takes precedent over a growing problem in hockey. I didn't even see much of a blurb. Now, I know they could be preparing to put in their next magazine but in all seriousness, this is becoming a very disturbing trend in hockey.
So far we've had: Sergei Zholtok pass away in Lithuania during the lockout, raising a small concern and having the NHL mandate that defibulators be placed behind the bench. Then Jiri Fischer goes out two years later and nearly dies but because of Zholtok's tragic passing, they luckily had the equipment to stabalize his condition. Than tragically early this year, Micky Renaud in the OHL and prospect for the Calgary Flames collapsed in his home and died because of a heart problem. And now we come to Alexei Cherepanov, who also apparently had a heart problem himself.
If this was anything but the NHL, the networks would be on this 24/7, wondering what was to be done to prevent this from happening to players. Cherepanov was an International Star, Renaud was captain of his team. Zholtok was a good utility player and Fischer was a budding defensive star for the Red Wings, if not already.
I mean, seriously. Right now the big story breaking is the banned substance in the NFL. Great but this is a growing problem for the NHL and the IIHF that needs to be looked at seriously and they are getting no pressure from the media. It is tragic that 4 players have died or lost their career due to heart problems. And yet not a peep of this trend on any of the networks that I can tell.
The biggest story was when Kory Stringer of the Minnesota Vikings died from training camp and it exploded about heat exhaustion and such and the rigors of summer camp. And they still report every year...
