A routine offseason workout turned into a nightmare for Arizona State hockey, and days later the school still doesn't have real answers. A men's hockey player collapsed during a team exercise Thursday morning and had to be hospitalized on the spot. That player is Matthew Mayich, a defenseman for the Sun Devils and a St. Louis Blues draft pick, and as of Tuesday night he was still in the hospital.
Arizona State is investigating the circumstances surrounding a workout that led to a men’s hockey player collapsing and requiring hospitalization following a team exercise Thursday morning, a university spokesperson said Tuesday night. Matthew Mayich, a defenseman for Arizona State and a St. Louis Blues draft pick, remained hospitalized Tuesday, a person close to the family confirmed. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. t.co/hREWs0gB9f
That's The Athletic's report, and it's the first real confirmation of who was involved and how serious this is. A university spokesperson told the outlet Arizona State is now investigating the circumstances around the workout itself, and a person close to Mayich's family — speaking anonymously because they weren't authorized to talk publicly — confirmed he remained hospitalized nearly a week after collapsing.
Mayich isn't just a name on a roster. St. Louis took him in the 6th round, 170th overall, at the 2023 NHL Draft out of the Ottawa 67's, where he put up 106 points over 4 OHL seasons before transferring into the college ranks. He's a 21-year-old sophomore defenseman who chose the NCAA path to keep developing toward pro hockey — the kind of prospect a franchise stashes and checks in on for years, not the kind of story anyone expects to be reading in August.
Arizona State investigating circumstances surrounding collapse of Blues prospect t.co/hZj5ZCsQZ6
Daily Faceoff's pickup of the story underscores how fast this has spread beyond Tempe — a college hockey program most casual fans don't follow suddenly has NHL beat writers and a franchise's fanbase watching closely, because a Blues prospect's health is now tied up in it. Arizona State has been notably quiet beyond confirming an investigation is underway, and neither the university nor the Blues have detailed what actually happened during that exercise.
For now this is a waiting game. St. Louis drafted Mayich as a project, a stay-in-school defenseman they could develop patiently — nobody in that organization is thinking about hockey right now, they're thinking about a 21-year-old kid in a hospital bed. The real story isn't the investigation timeline, it's whether Mayich pulls through, and everything else is background noise until there's an update on his condition.