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The events leading to NHL prospect Matthew Mayich’s heat stroke and subsequent hospitalization are now under formal police investigation, according to The Athletic.
The police department at Arizona State University — where Mayich, 21, is a sophomore on the Sun Devils hockey team — is determining whether any criminal acts occurred when he collapsed during an outdoor military-style workout on August 20, a source told the outlet. The investigation is separate from the “review” that Arizona State has said they are conducting.
A separate source said the police have begun reaching out to other hockey players on the team.
An Arizona State spokesman told The Athletic it is “standard practice” for the university’s police department to investigate serious injuries occurring on the school’s Tempe campus.
Mayich’s lawyer, Rob Carey, said the police investigation is “a step in the right direction.”
“But there are standards for doing this properly,” he added in a statement. “Collect and preserve evidence, including what might have been deleted; use subpoenas and warrants; get unfettered access to university systems; interview witnesses separately and protect them from retaliation; and be transparent about the process and the findings.”
Carey continued, “So long as those standards are followed and the lead investigator can act independently, we support it.”
Mayich collapsed during a team workout led by former green beret Tim Ziesel. The workout, which reportedly lasted for roughly an hour, included sprints, planks, push-ups and bear crawls. Players who lagged behind the group were allegedly forced to repeat exercises or do additional sprints.
Carey told The Arizona Republic that players were allegedly not given standard breaks and only players who led the exercises were guaranteed water.
Mayich was “disoriented and struggled well before he collapsed,” Carey claimed, ultimately saying the young athlete has “zero chance of recovery.”
“This injury is from exertional heat stroke that caused a lack of oxygen to the brain,” Carey explained. “There were no other contributing conditions, only exertion-related heat. This is not an induced coma. We need a miracle.”
In an interview with Arizona Sports 98.7, Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini clarified that the university’s review is not an admission that “something went wrong.”
“We’re just reviewing the facts and understanding the scenario,” Rossini said.
An attorney for Ziesel told Phoenix’s 12News that “there isn’t a [Division 1] athlete on the planet that would describe this as a hard day of exercising, including the ASU hockey team.”
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Carey pushed back on that assertion, calling the workout “grueling, onerous and dangerous.”
The lawyer added, “A kid’s life was basically ruined, the family is devastated, and people refuse to accept responsibility.”
Mayich, a defenseman, transferred to Arizona State this offseason after playing his freshman year at Clarkson University. The St. Louis Blues selected Mayich in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Arizona State is scheduled to open their 2026-2027 season on October 2.
