Report says Cherepanov took performance enhancers

December 29, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

According to a published report released earlier today on the basis of Russian investigators, former Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov used performance-enhancing drugs.

It was determined after reviewing blood and urine samples with Russia’s federal committee concluding “that for several months Alexei Cherepanov engaged in doping.”

A spokeswoman didn’t identify what drugs he allegedly took.

If true, combined with a heart condition known as myocarditis, it could’ve contributed to the 19 year-old Russian’s tragic death where he collapsed on the Omsk Avangard bench during a Continental Hockey League (KHL) game on Oct.13 later dying when late arriving paramedics couldn’t revive him.

It was during the 2007 NHL Entry Draft that the highly skilled Russian finisher fell into the Rangers’ lap allowing them to grab him 17th overall due to cost and uncertainty about when he’d come over. For Ranger President and GM Glen Sather whose team lacked a legit scoring prospect who could finish, it was a no-brainer.

Cherepanov had not only fared well at the World Junior Championships (WJC) scoring electrifying goals such as the one seen above but also had excelled in Russia turning pro at 17 going onto score 33 goals and 46 points his first two seasons.

In Year Three, he was off to a quick start scoring eight goals and five assists totaling 13 points in 15 games which even included tallying in his fateful finale before later missing on a two-on-one with former Ranger and close teammate Jaromir Jagr, who joked with him on the bench before he lost consciousness.

Despite the latest disturbing developments, the club’s medical team still might carry legal liability.

“A row of gross violations was committed by the medical brigade helping A. Cherepanov,” the statement read. Among them, doctors arrived on the scene a full 12 minutes after Cherepanov collapsed, and the battery on the defibrillator used to attempt shock Cherepanov’s heart back to life was drained, the statement said.

Since the incident, the club’s former director Mikhail Denisov was fired due to being accused of negligence.

If really true that Cherepanov blood doped, it makes a lot more sense than having a 19 year-old fit player suddenly die when there was never any hints during medical examinations of anything being wrong. Though indications are that he shouldn’t have been playing hockey due to the heart condition.

From a Ranger perspective, it really couldn’t get any worse. They had a lot riding on his future due to a lack of finishers in the farm system. With a team that’s currently struggling to score, the thinking was Cherepanov could’ve been an integral part of the club next Fall with Jagr even informing the club if he had come over this season, he could’ve played on the second line.

Given how little they have in terms of scoring and from watching highlights of how skilled he was, that’s certainly not hard to fathom.

It was already awful news when he passed away at such a tender age. Now, it seems even worse with a a talented player gone possibly due to making a poor life choice.

This now feels similar to a Len Bias situation when the former Boston Celtics’ top pick overdosed on cocaine 22 year ago following being selected second overall.

Maybe it’s different because the former University of Maryland star took hard drugs and died but as we’ve now discovered, any kind of drug can kill. This is a very sad tragedy and should be used as another example to all student/athletes out there on why they should never use performance enhancers.

Losing Cherepanov was always going to be a huge setback for the Ranger organization because he was a big part of their plans. They don’t boast another young scoring prospect like him. Acquiring Nikolai Zherdev last summer was one of Slats’ better moves as the former Jacket has evolved into their most consistent threat ranking second to Markus Naslund in goals (12) while pacing them with 21 assists, 33 points and a plus-four rating- tied with Nigel Dawes for best among an underachieving forward corps full of minuses.

Former second round Russian Artem Anisimov has made strides in his second pro season with the Hartford Wolf Pack leading them with 33 points (14-19-33 in 34 GP) after netting 43 (16-27-43 in 74) in 2007-08.

The only problem is the 20 year-old is a center where the Blueshirts boast depth with vets Chris Drury, Scott Gomez along with Brandon Dubinsky and valuable penalty killer Blair Betts. If the team continues to struggle later tonight when they play host to Rick DiPietro and the rival Islanders in what’s the final game before the new calendar year, would team brass actually consider recalling Anisimov interrupting his development?

That would probably not be wise and look like a panic move bringing a kid up too soon when there’s virtually no room thanks to the glut at forward caused by Sather.

If only they had taken Zach Parise, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter or Dustin Brown instead of Hugh Jessiman in 2003.

In the meantime, the Rangers try not to extend their season long three-game losing streak (0-2-1) against the Islanders tonight. A displeased Tom Renney who termed his team’s lethargic play “braindead” in a 4-2 loss to the Devils is expected to reinsert exiled forward Petr Prucha in for the first time since Dec.7 with the disappearing Aaron Voros a healthy scratch along with Dan Fritsche.

Prucha’s expected to play with either Gomez or Dubinsky with Zherdev moving back to the struggling second-year pivot’s line while Naslund moves to the Gomez unit with possibly rookie Lauri Korpikoski. Speaking of which, Korp was one of the few Rangers to give an honest effort the other night registering a team high four shots while utilizing his speed to bring energy. He just needs to play with the right players and he’ll start scoring.

The Drury line with Dawes and Ryan Callahan will remain intact while Betts centers Freddy Sjostrom and Colton Orr.

In more discouraging news, the Rangers sent back Corey Potter to Hartford meaning after a decent game in which he netted an assist in 13+ minutes with Michal Rozsival out due to a family situation, the kid goes down while weak link Dmitri Kalinin stays in with the team carrying only six defensemen.

When does this failed experiment end? If they lose again tonight, it won’t be pretty.