Hamilton-born NHL prospect collapsed after coaches didn't submit workout for review: university

Hockey coaches at Arizona State University (ASU) didn't submit a plan for review by trainers before an outdoor workout last month that saw NHL prospect Matthew Mayich collapse, leaving him in hospital in critical condition.

James Rund, the university official leading the review, wrote that the Hamilton-born 21-year-old collapsed just before 8:30 a.m. during the Aug. 20 training session at Sun Angel Stadium on ASU’s Tempe campus.

The report, which calls for a " a blue-ribbon advisory panel," said the temperature was about 30 C, and the student athletes were involved in "calisthenics, bodyweight exercises such as pushups and planks, and running."

Parents of NHL prospect hospitalized after collapse at team workout say he's a 'fighter'

The hockey coaches asked permission for Timothy Zeisel, who was there for the workout and had " spoken with the ASU Hockey team in the 2025-26 season about topics of leadership and teamwork," to speak to the team. However, the coaches didn't " submit a plan of training activities for review by ASU’s strength and conditioning coaches" before training began.

Rund, ASU's senior vice president of educational outreach and student services, wrote that near the end of the training, "Matthew appeared to struggle, and then in rapid succession stumbled, dropped the medicine ball and fell to the ground. He attempted to get up and resume running but fell to his knees."

The Mayich family's lawyer, Rob Carey, said on Tuesday that "Matthew is in stable but critical condition still. The family is still praying for a miracle, but nothing has significantly changed. But even if that happens, we will never have the young man who came to Arizona last month, a hockey star and (by all accounts) a wonderful person."

In an interview last week from Phoenix, Ariz., with CBC News, Mayich's father, John Mayich, said "we know Matthew's a fighter and we're hoping he pulls through this."

Before the workout, Matthew was "perfectly healthy," said his mother, Christina.

Speaking about the ASU report, Carey said that " when Matthew went down, there was no plan and no preparation, so he was treated in a way that hurt his chances rather than helped them."

"A month later, nobody's been named, nobody's been suspended, nobody's been fired for violating the very policies ASU published today, and the university wants to appoint a committee."

He added that "a committee isn't going to tell us why grown men with a rulebook in their hands let this happen to a young man at his first real workout in the desert. That's what an investigation is for, and it's why we're going to ask the county attorney to do one."

Carey said in early September that based on his own investigation, he believes Mayich endured a "military-style, brutal, gruelling workout" with no breaks and no water for over an hour.

"You have an elite NHL-drafted athlete showing up on the first coach-led workout, the very first day the team could organize formally, and he left the field with no chance of recovery," Carey said. "Obviously there's something wrong."