Tragic death of teen hockey player

[komodo0921]

I just want to acknowledge and express heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Teddy Balkind. A tenth grade student from Greenwich, USA, who trgicly passed away over the weekend after his throat was, inadvertently slashed by an opponents skate after a collision during a high school game.

I would've included an article but, unfortunately, my computer skills sorely lack, preventing me from doing so

[Rubik]

Quote

Connecticut High School Hockey Player Dies After Fall on the Rink

Teddy Balkind, a sophomore at St. Luke’s School, died after he fell and his neck was cut by another player’s skate, police and school officials said.

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Brunswick School in Greenwich, Conn., which was playing against a hockey team from St. Luke’s School on Thursday when the student fell on the ice.Credit...Jane Beiles for The New York Times

By Troy Closson

Jan. 8, 2022

 

A high school student in Connecticut died after he was severely hurt during a junior varsity ice hockey game on Thursday, officials said, leaving his team and school community reeling from his death.

 

The injury took place as the 10th-grade student, Teddy Balkind, fell on the rink during a game between two private schools in Fairfield County.

After Mr. Balkind fell, another player was unable to slow down and ran into him. Officials said Mr. Balkind’s neck was cut by the other player’s skate.

The game was immediately stopped and staff members called 911, the police said. Mr. Balkind was treated at the scene before being taken to a hospital but he did not survive surgery, school officials said.

 

His death spurred waves of shock and grief throughout southwest Connecticut.

 

The two schools — St. Luke’s School in New Canaan and Brunswick School in Greenwich — mourned what officials called an “unimaginable tragedy.” Local and professional hockey players offered their condolences and shared tributes to Mr. Balkind.

 

“Our community is mourning,” Mark Davis, the head of school at St. Luke’s, where Mr. Balkind was a student, said in a statement. “We lost a precious young man in a tragic accident. Both St. Luke’s School and Brunswick School are in shock as we work to support our students and families. St. Luke’s singular focus at this moment is to care for our devastated community.”

 

His hockey program wrote on Twitter that “no words are adequate for the grief we are all feeling.”

The match started around 5 p.m. and gameplay had been “entirely normal and unremarkable” before the accident took place, officials at the Brunswick School said in a letter to alumni.

 

Mr. Balkind was a longtime ice hockey player, often wearing No. 5 on his jersey and skating for the New Canaan Winter Club. He had attended St. Luke’s, a private institution with grades 5 through 12, since middle school, where he was once recognized for crafting the school’s “artwork of the week.”

 

Photos on his public Instagram page told a story of a nature- and sports-loving teenager. Videos showed him mountain biking and leaping over branches on trails in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. One image showed him celebrating a state championship with his hockey team.

The most recent photo, posted on Oct. 5, showed him biking through a mountain park. Under it, nearly 1,000 people left comments filled with hearts and messages of “RIP” and “rest easy buddy.”

 

Mr. Balkind’s family could not be reached for comment on Saturday. School officials said in statements that his father had been in the audience at the game and traveled to the hospital with him.

 

Clark Jones, the director of hockey at the New Canaan Winter Club, called Mr. Balkind a positive presence on the team and said the community was deeply struggling with the loss.

 

“We lost a tremendous young man,” Mr. Jones wrote on Twitter on Friday. “Always smiling, a great teammate, and a passionate hockey player.”

St. Luke’s was closed on Friday because of snow but school officials told students the building would be open to offer community members space to process the death.

 

Officials at the Brunswick School, the all-boys private school and the host of Thursday’s game, said in messages to students that counseling and support services would be in place for the hockey players.

 

After Mr. Balkind’s death was confirmed in local news reports, families and community members in New Canaan leaned hockey sticks and other sports equipment alongside their door frames and on their porches in his memory.

 

The news also reached the National Hockey League. Cam Atkinson, a right winger on the Philadelphia Flyers, shared a photo of him participating in the remembrance on social media, writing that he was “heartbroken” for the family. “A horrible tragedy playing the game we all love,” he said.

 

The league and other teams, including the New York Rangers, also posted messages to Mr. Balkind’s family.

“While it’s hard to put into words the impact of such a loss, know that our thoughts, prayers and hearts are with you,” the Rangers wrote on Twitter.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/08/nyregion/connecticut-teddy-balkind-hockey-death.html

 

awful accident, rest in peace.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Rubik

[Ralph.]

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/33014532/high-school-hockey-player-dies-collision-connecticut

 

Quote

 

GREENWICH, Conn. -- A Connecticut 10th-grade hockey player has died after falling to the ice and being cut on the neck by the skate of another player during a game, school officials and police said.

 

The accident occurred Thursday as the junior varsity team at the Brunswick School, a college preparatory school for boys in Greenwich, played St. Luke's School, a private co-educational school from New Canaan.

 

St. Luke's identified the player Friday as Teddy Balkind. He fell to the ice and the other player was unable to stop and collided with him, Greenwich Police Capt. Mark Zuccerella said Friday.

 

Brunswick Head of School Thomas Philip said in a statement that Balkind suffered a cut to his neck. He said those who were at the game described the play as "entirely normal and unremarkable in the game of hockey."

 

"I want to commend our medical, coaching and security staff for all that they did in the most terrible of circumstances to sustain the boy until the ambulance arrived," Philip wrote.

 

No classes were held on Friday because of a snowstorm, but St. Luke's Head of School Mark Davis said the building would be open in the afternoon so that the community could gather to grieve.

 

"There are no words adequate to this moment, and I know all of us will support each other as best as we can," he said.

 

 

This is terrible, have to feel for the family and community. 

[Nucker 67]

Tragic

 

when the hell are they going to develop proper equipment?  It's 2022 ffs. 

 

Throat, ear and wrist guards for all players!!

[Master Mind]

Horrible tragedy. Condolences to Teddy's loved ones.

[kloubek]

Really unfortunate. 

 

This is my nightmare. My son is in hockey and sometimes they play a ball game for fun, where the kids have to try to score with a soccer or volley ball, No sticks - just batting it around with their hands and feet. This ends up resulting in kids falling all over the place and over each other - which really makes me question the safety of it all. Sure they wear neck guards, but they offer limited protection. Then of course, there's a lessened but present risk during gameplay as well.

 

Time for technology to redesign the neck guard with kevlar or something....

 

RIP.

[Hamhuis Hip Check]

Damn, i assumed throat protectors were mandatory these days, or was he wearing one and it was inadequate?

[kloubek]

41 minutes ago, Hamhuis Hip Check said:

Damn, i assumed throat protectors were mandatory these days, or was he wearing one and it was inadequate?

They are where I am here in Alberta, and I assume there are similar rules in all provinces. But,

1) They are just a thin piece of material and padding, which I would imagine offers somewhat limited protection, and

2) They don't cover everything. They are only a couple inches high, so there is certainly areas above and below it that are left exposed.

[StanleyCupOneDay]

This is one of those terrible incidents that I really hope brings about a change in equipment in order to prevent future tragedies. Vulnerable areas such as the neck and wrists need some form of Kevlar or other strong material cover to guard them that can stop a sharp blade. Unfortunately this isn’t the first, nor will it be the last time something like this happens unless changes are made.

 

May he rest in peace and may his family and friends have the strength to move forward without him. Sad day indeed.