Obviously there's no way of being absolutely sure about what is actually going on here, but when you add it to reports of lawyers and bad drug tests you can probably go ahead and jump to some conclusions. Also, the photos were sent to his family with the file names "addiction" and "addiction2," so it probably wasn't vitamins.

On the other hand, this whole story assumes that Yahoo's Russian-to-English translator works properly. ("We see on two others how someone carries out the unestablished procedure. I sent to their inspectors with the request to introduce to the materials of the matter", he said amphitheatres.") Heck, he could be giving bone marrow to sick children for all we know. But he probably wasn't. And he's probably not the only Russian hockey player who has spent quality time in that bed.

Адвокат Черепановых попросил приобщить к делу фото [AllHockey; Translated from Russian]]

Not only did Cherepanov have a heart condition that should have disqualified him from playing professional hockey, but post-mortem blood tests have revealed that he was actively blood doping and had been taking banned substances for several months before his death. No one is saying that the drugs contributed directly to his death, but when you add these facts to his heart problems and the paramedics who arrived 12 minutes after he collapsed, carrying a defibrillator with a dead battery, and the whole incident is just a big pile of suck.

And let's be honest—the whole thing happened in Russia, so who can really trust what the full truth is? He may as well have been arrested a Free Tibet rally in Beijing.

Officials: Tests show Russian hockey player Cherepanov was blood doping [Hockey News]
Young star's death haunts KHL [Toronto Star]
Cherepanov tragic loss for Russians [London Free Press]

Cherepanov was not actually signed to an NHL contract and therefore is "technically eligible to be drafted again" even though he is "technically" dead. The Rangers feel that entitles them to a second-round compensation pick in the 2009 entry draft. That's ... fair? But I think it's the touching and compassionate way that the Rangers have addressed the issue that really drives home the pain that Alexei's death has caused.

"It seems now as if that phrase is unintentionally precluding the deceased from being included as eligible for compensation. We understand that this is a sensitive issue, but with all due respect to Alexei's family and his memory, he is technically eligible to be drafted again next year.

We are not attempting to capitalize on a tragedy, but there would be no question regarding the Rangers' right to a compensatory pick if Cherepanov had been revived and survived the incident and were on life support ... If an unsigned player sustained a massive injury on or off the ice, the drafting team would get a compensatory pick."

See? Even if this 19-year-old kid was merely stuck in a persistent vegetative state, the Bruins would still probably draft him and then everyone would agree that New York deserves redress. Everyone just deals with grief in their own way.

With all due respect ... that's kinda fucked up.

RANGERS SEEK PICK FOR LATE PROSPECT [NY Post]
Report: Rangers seek draft pick in wake of Cherepanov's death [ESPN]

Pavel Krasheninnikov, who sits on the Russian Hockey Federation's supervisory council and is a member of the State Duma, said there was no ambulance on duty at the arena where Cherepanov's Russian team, Avangard Omsk, was playing. He asserted that emergency workers took too long to respond and didn't have a defibrillator, a machine used to shock the heart. It was unclear how much time it took paramedics to respond.

"There are elements of negligence here," Krasheninnikov said in televised comments.

Both Rangers officials and Cherepanov's North American agent say the young forward cleared all of his recent physicals and there was no evidence of the potentially fatal disease.

The video of Cherepanov's final moments on the bench before he's limply carried away without a stretcher, which Wyshyinski appropriately calls "repulsive." does reveal a disturbing reality of the KHL . The Russian crowd, obviously unaware of the severity of the situation applauds as Cherepanov is carried off the bench, hopeful that he'd be okay. The odd music piping through the arena at the time also adds an eerie element to it.

Alexei Cherepanov tragedy gains clarity as tributes pour in [Puck Daddy]
Rangers Prospect Dies After Collapsing in Game [NY Times]

Cherepanov is dead. He collapsed on the bench on the 18th minute of the third period in the game against Vityaz Chekhov after a collision with Jaromir Jagr [his teammate on Omsk in the KHL]. He went to the bench and his heart stopped. He was taken to the emergency room at a local hospital where the best doctors in town worked for about an hour trying to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead at 22:55 Moscow time (2:55pm EST). After the news the entire Avangard Omsk squad went to one of the local churches to light candles for Cherepanov.

Puck Daddy also shares this first-hand account version who says that Jagr was in tears and screaming "Wake up, Alexei!" after the young man collapsed. Crazy stuff. ESPN's report has no mention of the accidental elbow from Jagr.

UPDATE: NY Times relays that Russian newspaper Daily Sports Express says cardiac arrest was not caused by accidental blow to the head by any members. [NY Times]

Rangers prospect Alexi Cherapanov dies after collision in KHL game [Puck Daddy]
Prospect Cherapanov Passes Away at 19 [NY Rangers]