A High School Hockey Player Died In An On-Ice 'Accident' & Stick Tributes Are Pouring In
Teams are putting their sticks out for 15-year-old Teddy Balkind 🏒🏒
The hockey community is mourning the death of a 15-year-old in Connecticut, after he was injured in a freak accident during a high school game last week.
Teddy Balkind, a high schooler from St. Luke School in New Canaan, Connecticut, fell on the ice while playing a game against Brunswick School in Greenwich on January 6.
The teen got tangled up with an opposing player in the fall and he suffered a skate cut to the neck, CNN reports.
He was immediately transported to Greenwich Hospital where he died of his injuries. A coroner has since ruled it to be an accidental death.
The New Canaan Police Department took to their Facebook page to post about the tragedy and pay tribute to the boy.
"The Town of New Canaan and the St. Luke's community suffered a tragic loss last night. Teddy Balkind, a Sophomore at St. Luke's passed away after suffering a tragic injury in a hockey game between St. Luke's and Brunswick," read the caption.
"Teddy skated for the New Canaan Winter Club throughout his youth hockey career and was known to all as an all-around incredible young man, son and brother."
The incident has since been ruled an accident by the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
An email sent to CNN by the medical examiner's office outlines that Balkind's death was due to an "incised wound of [the] neck" and labelled it as an "accident."
The hockey community, including the NHL, have all paid tribute to the young hockey player.
"The NHL mourns the passing of Teddy Balkind. #sticksoutforTeddy" read the hockey league's caption.
Many high school, college and pro teams mourned him by sharing photos of sticks left outside their doors under the hashtag #SticksOutForTeddy.
Hockey players paid tribute to the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in much the same way in 2018.