Arizona State hockey player Matthew Mayich was “failed” by those around him when he collapsed and was hospitalized after a controversial outdoor workout last month, the Professional Hockey Players’ Association said in a blistering statement.
“The recent tragedy in collegiate hockey should force everyone in sport to confront a fundamental issue: no athlete should ever believe that protecting their health and safety could cost them ice time, their place on a team, a scholarship or their future in the game,” PHPA Executive Director Brian Ramsay said on Wednesday, September 9. “When athletes feel pressure to remain silent about an injury, illness, exhaustion, or concern because they fear the consequences of speaking up, the system has failed them.”
Ramsay continued, “Athletes should never have to choose between their health and their careers. Period.”
Mayich, 21, suffered a heat stroke during a military-style team workout on August 20. The athlete has been hospitalized since, with the family’s attorney, Robert Carey, saying Mayich has “zero chance for recovery.”
“I believe we have an obligation to this young man and his family, to keep pushing for a culture across hockey — and across sport — where speaking up about one’s health and wellness is viewed as an act of strength, not weakness,” said the PHPA, which represents all players in the American Hockey League and ECHL. “That young man, on the cusp of his career in professional hockey, was failed by the system, the system that should have protected him.”
The statement continued, “The president must conduct an inquiry and meet with players who will tell the truth about that day, but they must also guarantee that no player will suffer any repercussions or retaliation. No game, roster spot, scholarship or career is worth compromising an athlete’s health or safety. We owe all athletes an environment that makes that principle absolute.”
Mayich, a sophomore defenseman, had recently transferred to Arizona State after playing his freshman year at Clarkson University. He was a sixth round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The Arizona State Police Department opened a formal investigation into Mayich’s collapse earlier this month. In an exclusive interview with Us, Carey said fear within the hockey program was palpable.
“These kids are scared,” Mayich’s family attorney said on September 3. “The ones that are still there, they’re scared. They think they might lose their scholarships. They think the program might crumble. They might not get playing time if they cross the coach.”
In a statement to Us on September 3, a spokesperson for Arizona State said, “The morning outdoor workout was a team event at which coaches and training staff were present along with a third party who had previously worked with the ASU Hockey team.”
“Sun Devil Athletics also has heat-illness guidelines in place; these guidelines are informed by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association,” the statement added. “SDA student-athletes regularly practice and train outside, under coach and trainer supervision.”
Arizona State is scheduled to open their season on October 2 at Lindenwood.
