[spellbound]

Ak Bars Kazan is negotiating with Peter Forsbergs agent about a deal. Forsberg havent commented this yet whether he's ready to move east.
He's been saying earlier that if he will play it'll be in the NHL.

[spellbound]

Prospect Cherepanov Passes Away at 19

Young Russian forward was team's No. 1 pick in 2007

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather regretfully announced today that forward Alexei Cherepanov passed away during a game in Russia on Monday evening. Cherepanov was 19 years old.

“We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei,” said Sather. “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.”
Cherepanov appeared in 14 games with Avangard Omsk of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) this season, registering seven goals and five assists for 12 points. He ranked second on the team in goals (seven) and fourth in points (12). He also ranked third on the team with a 24.1% shooting percentage.

The 6-1, 187-pounder appeared in 106 career Russian Super League (RSL)/KHL matches with Avangard Omsk, collecting 40 goals and 29 assists for 69 points, along with 61 penalty minutes. Last season, Cherepanov established a career-high in assists (13) while finishing fourth on the club in points (28). In 2006-07, he set the RSL record for most goals by a rookie (18), eclipsing Pavel Bure’s mark (17) set in 1988-89 with the Red Army (CSKA Moscow).

With 29 points in his first season with Omsk, Cherepanov recorded more points than Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin, Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin and Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk each tallied in their first RSL season.

Internationally, Cherepanov represented Team Russia in several elite tournaments. Most recently, he helped lead Russia to a Bronze Medal in the 2008 U-20 World Junior Championships, tallying three goals and three assists for six points and a plus-three rating in six games. In 2007, Cherepanov earned Top Forward honors by the Directorate and was selected to the All-Tournament Team at the 2007 U-20 World Junior Championships, where he led all players in scoring with eight points (five goals and three assists) in six games and helped Team Russia capture a Silver Medal.

The Barnaul, Russia native was originally the Rangers’ first round choice, 17th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

http://rangers.nhl.com/team/app/?ser...ticleid=386385

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Thousands turn out for funeral of Rangers prospect
Wednesday, 10.15.2008 / 11:10 AM / News Associated PressMOSCOW (AP) -Family, friends, teammates and thousands of fans paid their last respects Wednesday to Alexei Cherepanov, the 19-year-old rising hockey star who died after suffering heart problems during a game outside Moscow.

The cause of his death was still under investigation, federal investigators said Wednesday. A first-round draft pick for the New York Rangers, Cherepanov collapsed on the bench during a game Monday outside Moscow.

State television showed mourners in his Siberian hometown lining up on a red carpet placed on the ice in the hockey stadium of Cherepanov's team, Avangard Omsk, to lay flowers at his coffin.

Crowds of mourners followed as pallbearers carried the coffin, draped with white cloth, from the stadium to Omsk's Staro-Severnoye Cemetery, where Cherepanov was buried.

Some onlookers were so overcome with grief they had to be restrained.

"It is hard to evaluate today the depth of the loss felt by the family of Alexei, Russian sport, and the Avangard team," said Leonid Polezhayev, the governor of the Omsk region, in comments to Russian agency Regnum.

"Alexei Cherepanov wasn't only a talented athlete and a reliable comrade, he was an idol of modern youth."

Moscow regional investigators said Cherepanov apparently had chronic ischemia - a medical condition that means not enough blood gets to the heart or other organs. They have raised questions as to why the condition went undetected.

Federal investigators released a statement Wednesday saying they had ordered tests of blood and other samples to see if there was any evidence of doping. They also had questioned the manager and medical staff of Avangard as well as staff at the Vityaz stadium, where Monday's game was played, the statement said.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Pavel Krasheninnikov, who sits on the Russian Hockey Federation's supervisory council, has accused emergency workers of taking too long to respond to the call. He also complained there was no ambulance on standby for the game and no defibrillator.

nhl.com

[cmufcs]

steelers dont see any of it just follow it on teletxt

[cmufcs]

dont see any of it but follow it FLYERS RULE

[Zenitka]

R.I.P Alexei.....we will remember...

He was one from the best young players in the world....

[spellbound]

I wont make a comment on his ability but dying at 19 is way too early.

Also I got to think of all the footballers dying on the pitch...and the unproven links with medicine and painkillers.
When something like this occurs you get perspective to things that its only sport. We should keep that in mind not just the next game we watch but every game.

[spellbound]

Can't get much better than Brunnstrom's debut

Well it seems like there was plenty of substance surrounding the hype about Fabian Brunnstrom, eh?

Of course we will have to wait and see how the remainder of the season plays out, but netting a hat trick in your first NHL game is pretty high on the list of making a positive first impression.

Brunnstrom dressed for his first NHL game Wednesday night for the Dallas Stars against the Nashville Predators and scored three times in a 6-4 win. He is just the third player in NHL history to score a hat trick in his NHL debut, joining Alex Smart (1943, Montreal) and Real Cloutier (1979, Quebec).

"It made it that much better to win the game," said Brunnstrom, who skated on a line with Brad Richards and Sean Avery. "I had some really nice passes and I just tried to be in front of the net. This has been my goal since I was little, to play in the NHL, and this is just a dream come true."

"The process is going well. He played a solid game," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "The goals are easy to see, but I was very impressed with the way that he played a pretty simple, error-free game, did what he was supposed to do and he capitalized on some chances. It's a great start for him. Again, it's not just the goals; it's the other things that he's doing out there that make you feel good about where he's come from. He's a good player and he's going to continue to improve."

Of course after such a startling first impression, Brunnstrom realizes he is going to be hard pressed for an encore.

"It's going to be tough to live up to this every night," he said. "I have to keep going to the net and working hard and doing everything I can to help this team win."
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=387169

[piazza]

The Canadians have to be the favorites in the East, since Malone and Hossa () left Pittsburgh.

[spellbound]

What about Rangers? No Jagr and the team could grow as a unit. Lundqvist have new gear to help his body to last the whole season (again). But not cup winner though.