Penguins React to Recent Tragedy

As you are all aware, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar hails from Russia, so it was only fitting for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review to get his reaction to the recent death of fellow countryman, Alexei Cherepanov.

Gonchar said yesterday he was dismayed by that report, and another by The Associated Press that Cherepanov, who was 19, had an undetected heart condition. Cherepanov's agent denied that report.

"I'm concerned about what kind of doctors they have there," Gonchar said of the Continental Hockey League. "As a hockey player, at least what you hope for is that they check on everything. I was hoping it was the same back home, and that all the players coming into camp were safe. But that seems like it's not the case."

But I found the most touching of Gonchar's heart-felt responses was the following one:

"Everybody with Russian hockey considered him a good player, a great guy with great potential. But that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you are a steel worker or a hockey player; you hope that when the doctors are checking you out, they are treating you well."

"That's why I feel so bad. It's just a shame."

But sorrow has no boundaries, so it's not surprising that everyone, not just those with Russian ties, has been struck by the sadness of the situation.

Penguins head coach Michel Therrien also expressed his reaction to this tragedy.

"The first thought is with (his) family; the hockey side is way behind as far as I'm concerned," coach Michel Therrien said. "It's just a sad day."

Although no longer a Penguin, Jaromir Jagr is a large part of the team's history and is the hardest hit by the Cherepanov tragedy. Here is some of what Jagr had to say to iDNES.cz on Tuesday:

• Q: How did the tragedy happen?
  Everything happened suddenly and very quickly. Lyosha came off from the ice, sat on the bench. And died.
• Q: It was written that Cherepanov’s death occurred after a collision with Jagr.
  Some Russian journalist invented all this. Nothing of the kind happened. Maybe he wanted to attract readers by having the name Jagr in the headline. I didn’t play together with Lyosha. Both of us are right-wing forwards.
• Q: Does this make you lose interest in hockey?
  Very unpleasant. It will live forever in my memory.
• Q: You were in fact friends with Cherepanov?
  It’s terribly difficult for me to talk about it. Awful. This is a shock that defies description. I was very close with him.