Rangers Prospect, 19, Dead.

After hearing the news this afternoon, I felt compelled to interrupt my weekly columns with an article for top Ranger prospect Alexei Cherepanov. The 19-year-old collapsed on the bench during his team's game this afternoon and passed away soon after.

This is a big loss for the hockey world and the New York Rangers, just like it must be for his Russian club, Avangard Omsk. There's no question the fans have lost a player very capable of creating buzz-worthy plays. However, I'm mostly left thinking about his family, and what they must be feeling. My heart goes out to them, and wishes them better days ahead as they deal with the loss.

His hockey career was short, but impressive. He went from being the top rated Russian forward in the 2007 draft to having his stock drop to No. 17. However, he was selected by a team whose recent success was made even more blinding by the fact they had landed a player the caliber of Cherepanov. 

He had scored 12 points in 14 games this year with Omsk, the same team Jaromir Jagr bolted for from the Rangers this season where he was captain. So the Ranger organization lost their all-star captain in Jagr, and then lose their best prospect in the most unfortunate of circumstances.

New York is already 4-0 this year, and now has someone to fight for as the long season rolls along. Not much is known yet on how Cherepanov died or why.

His death brings up the recent memory of Luc Bourdon of Vancouver's passing in a motorcycle accident at age 21, and Windsor Spitfires captain Mickey Renaud dying of a heart ailment at 19.

Whether the Russian's death compares with either of those is irrelevant. The hard part is that prospects are dying early and the NHL, CHL and even overseas leagues have not been spared.

There is an argument pointing to the fact that players are pushed too hard at a young age and it catches up to them. Perhaps there is some truth to that. But the age limit for eligibility has been 18 for at least two decades without hurting players in this way.

Hopefully, this is the last passing for a long time, but now, the sport will have an unfair magnifying glass pointed at them for the next little while as the circumstances of this latest death are discovered.

RIP Alexei, and please think of his family in your prayers, as I will.