After the match, the JHL hockey player Timur Fayzutdinov died. A huge loss for the entire sports world — in Yaroslavl, after the match of youth teams «Loko» — «Dynamo — St. Petersburg», the captain of the St. Petersburg team, Timur Fayzutdinov, died. He was only 19 years old.
The game took place on March 12. At some point, a puck hit Timur’s head. Where exactly she landed, you can’t see — the player grabbed his head and fell on the ice. Timur was immediately put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. The doctors did their best, but the diagnoses were getting worse day by day: «Extremely serious condition«, «Critical» …
Timur’s parents rushed to Yaroslavl. And at first they wanted to take their son to a Moscow clinic — the washer pierced the carotid artery, damaged the vertebrae near the neck, neurosurgeons had to intervene with special equipment. Yaroslavl doctors warned — it is dangerous.
“We understand that this is a risk, but we have to take a risk,” the player’s mother Elena, who was trying to find at least some way to help her son, told 76.RU journalists. Still, they did not transport it. The family found itself in a desperate situation: it is dangerous to transport, and nothing can be done on the spot. Even though Yaroslavl had the necessary equipment.
“With all the volume of intensive therapy that the hospital’s resuscitators are now using, unfortunately, there is no positive trend,” the doctors said. — The operation for such severe lesions is not performed at all. It is impossible to transport the patient, in the opinion of the council of doctors, with such a severity. The doctors are doing everything they can to save the guy.
Alas, it was not possible to save. Timur Fayzutdinov died on the afternoon of March 16.
Who is guilty
Most experts agree that no one in particular cannot be blamed for this story.
“This is a tragic coincidence,” Artyom Artemiev, the organizer of the hockey training camp and former Lokomotiv goalkeeper, is convinced. — And of course, there is no fault of the Loko hockey player in what happened.
In the Continental Hockey League, they say that there are no requirements specifically for the strength of equipment in the regulations, only for its presence and size. As for the lack of additional neck protection for Timur Fayzutdinov during the match, it is mandatory only for players under 18 years old, it is only recommended for older hockey players. But many neglect it, as it causes discomfort during intense play. In addition, young hockey players have an unspoken code: they are 18 years old — already a man, and so that their teammates do not laugh, they, as soon as the opportunity arises, throw off their «child» protection from themselves.
— I remember being young. It’s dumb to play in the “collar” — it’s uncomfortable in it and the neck will shrink, ”said Vitaly Zotov, a hockey coach and former player of St. Petersburg SKA and Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. — Many players, as soon as they turn 18, take off their collars and masks and put on a visor (protective glass on the mask. — Ed.). Until the age of 18, people still do not bear full responsibility for themselves, and after 18, I think it is normal when a person chooses whether to put on additional protection or not.
Nevertheless, the Investigative Committee began a pre-investigation check.
Despite the fact that such cases are very rare, such tragedies in hockey still happen. In 2016, the 16-year-old captain of the junior team of the Metallurg Novokuznetsk club, Alexander Orekhov, went on the ice in a match against his peers from Siberia without neck protection, violating the rules. It was there that the puck got, which became the cause of death.
«How to live with this now?»
Nobody in the hockey community blames Loko player Dmitry Tyuvilin, who threw that fatal puck. In social networks, the guy is trying to support: «Poor, how can he play next …», «He is not guilty! This is a game «,» How are you going to live with this now? » — wrote the fans. A few minutes after it became known about Timur’s death, Dmitry closed his accounts.
What’s next
The Yaroslavl club responded succinctly to a request for assistance to the family of the deceased hockey player: «Everything will be done on an individual basis.» The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is ready to provide financial assistance to the family.
“This is a very offensive situation. On behalf of the entire Russian Ice Hockey Federation, I would like to express my condolences to the parents and all those close to the deceased. We also express our condolences to Dynamo St. Petersburg. We are ready to help Timur’s family «, — quotes the vice-president of the FHR Roman Rotenberg» Sport Express «.
The family will also be helped by the Youth Hockey League itself and the title partner of the MHL Parimatch.
“The upcoming matches of the Youth Hockey League and the Continental Hockey League will begin with a minute of silence,” the League also said.
And sports doctors believe that it is generally worth reconsidering the attitude towards the outfit of young players.
— The nature of the injury is difficult to determine, but given the weight of the puck and the speed with which it flies, the consequences in such cases will always be severe. If such an incident has already occurred, then, I believe, those responsible need to revise the rules for the use of neck protectors for young hockey players, — said Alexei Amelichev, a sports doctor and surgeon at the St. Petersburg City Hospital of St. George.
Fought to the end
Timur Fayzutdinov started this season as the captain of the youth team «Dynamo St. Petersburg». At the age of 19, he played almost 200 matches. As they say in the club, he was one of those players for whom there was not a single game, not a single change, when he did not fight for the team and did not fight for the result.
And he was like that — impetuous, strong-willed. He himself spoke about the will to win in one of his last interviews:
— Very, very big responsibility to the guys, to the club. The most important thing in the role of a captain is to fight always to the end, until the very, very last moment, sparing no effort, and with these actions to charge your team.
