The Columbus Blue Jackets confirmed the trigger and circumstance across the loss of life of goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks.
The 24-year outdated died after being hit with an errant fireworks mortar blast on July 4, in response to an post-mortem. He suffered chest trauma and main harm to his coronary heart and lungs.
On Wednesday, Blue Jackets president John Davidson defined the preliminary confusion surrounding how Kivlenieks died. The Blue Jackets first introduced he suffered an obvious head damage in a fall however that evaluation later modified.
“We stated what we have been informed, and we stated ‘obvious head damage,’” Davidson informed reporters. “We didn’t say it was a head damage, we stated it [was] ‘obvious.’ Clearly, as soon as they raced to get [Kivlenieks] to the hospital and tried all the pieces they might, with everybody being there, and [Kivlenieks] being supported, they did their work and that is what we came upon. We tried to get forward of it, to inform the reality. It was an obvious head damage and clearly we’ve discovered so much worse since.”
The fireworks blast that led to Kivlenieks’ loss of life occurred on the home of goaltending coach Manny Legace in Novi, Mich., after the marriage of Legace’s daughter earlier that day.
“We perceive at this level there was a day and an evening celebrating certainly one of life’s most cherished occasions, a marriage,” Davidson stated. “They have been [Kivlenieks’] closest mates, and so they have been with him that evening. This can be a devastating loss for them and for us, and one that can at all times be with us.”
Davidson added the crew continues to be calling Kivlenieks’ loss of life “a tragic accident, however the police report will maintain that.” Authorities are nonetheless investigating the incident.
A number of hours after Kivlenieks’ loss of life, Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen was in his automotive making the journey to Novi. He needed to be there so he might help Kivlenieks’ family and friends.
“Going to see them had nothing to do with me being a coach,” Larsen informed The Athletic. “You realize they’re hurting so dangerous and there’s nothing you may say to make it any higher. I simply needed to be there with them, to hug them and cry with them, and simply be there for them, be current.”
And common supervisor Jarmo Kekalainen, who signed the Latvian as a free agent in 2017, commented on the imaginative and prescient he had for the undrafted Kivlenieks.
“We projected him as a full-time NHL goalie, with a lot of potential,” Kekalainen stated. “His debut within the NHL was an amazing success. We had him play these video games on the finish of this season for an enormous purpose, as a result of we believed he was going to be an enormous a part of our future, a full-time NHLer.
“He got here to the rink with a smile on his face, whether or not he was taking part in or being a backup, to simply making an attempt to get higher day by day with the top objective in thoughts of making an attempt to be an NHL goalie. He went via some ups and downs, even in Cleveland [with the AHL] however at all times went via it with a smile on his face, with the precise perspective. That’s been stated by just about each participant that has made remarks on the horrible incident. I believe that speaks volumes on his character when all of his teammates mainly have the identical message about him.”
Teammates have been distraught over Kivlenieks’ loss of life. Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins, 27, who was current for the tragedy, was Kivlenieks’ good good friend and associate within the crease.
“My little brother, what to say,” Merzlikins wrote in an Instagram submit. “I actually beloved you. You have been a bit brother for me that I took care of … Thanks for being such wonderful individual, at all times with a smile.”
The Blue Jackets are presently planning Kivlenieks’ memorial service. Kivlenieks’ mom Astrida doesn’t communicate English, however Merzlikins, a fellow Latvian, and the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation are serving to all events overcome language obstacles and plan an applicable technique to honor the fallen goaltender.
“There’s at all times layers of simply terribleness that occurs with this stuff,” Davidson stated. “Clearly, that is about [Kivlenieks] and his household, nevertheless it’s concerning the prolonged household that we belong to – the Blue Jackets household. We as a company work all the pieces from grief counseling to phoning to texting, all the pieces from A to Z.
“We’re making an attempt to cowl each base we presumably can, this has far-reaching results. This was [Legace’s] daughter’s marriage ceremony, and all of these individuals have been there. This tragedy occurred, and we’ve to take care of it, and we’ve to take care of it the precise means. I’m very assured that we’re.”
