National Hockey League player Jay Bouwmeester doing well after cardiac event that required defibrillator
Medical personnel used a defibrillator to revive St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester after he suffered a cardiac episode and was unresponsive on the team bench during a game Tuesday night in Anaheim, California.
Bouwmeester regained consciousness immediately, Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday in Las Vegas.
The 36-year-old two-time All-Star remained in Anaheim, at University of California-Irvine Medical Center.
“Things are looking very positive,” Armstrong said, after telling reporters that the defenseman is undergoing a battery of tests.
In a video of the collapse, Bouwmeester can be seen slumped over on the bench before he eventually falls forward and his teammates call for help. The Blues game at the Anaheim Ducks was postponed, and some teammates of Bouwmeester went to the hospital.
“It made everyone feel a lot better knowing he was in good hands. He was in good spirits last night with us,” Alex Pietrangelo, one of the Blues captains, said.
By the time he was transported to a local hospital, Bouwmeester was alert and able to move his extremities, Armstrong said Tuesday night.
Bouwmeester holds the longest streak of consecutive games played by a defenseman in the league’s history — playing 737 games between 2004 to 2014, according to his bio on the team’s website. He is sixth all-time in games played by any player.
He was a part of Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and has two golds and a silver medal from playing in the world championships.
The NHL said a decision on the date of the makeup game will be made in the near future.
“We will play the game,” Armstrong said. The contest will be a full game but the score will start at 1-1, as it was when the incident happened.
The Blues are the defending NHL champions. They have the fifth best record in the league this season.
St. Louis plays Thursday night at the Vegas Golden Knights.
