An anonymous letter by members of Arizona State University’s hockey team that was sent to the school’s president disputes aspects of ASU’s official report into events that led up to Canadian NHL prospect Matthew Mayich’s collapse.
In the review released last week, ASU official James Rund wrote that the Hamilton-born 21-year-old collapsed just before 8:30 a.m. during Aug. 20 training at Sun Angel Stadium on ASU’s Tempe campus. It also determined ASU hockey coaches didn’t submit a plan for review by trainers before the training session.
The players said in the letter that they had it sent anonymously Monday to ASU president Michael M. Crow through their lawyer, Timothy J. Casey, as they feared retribution.
It alleges that Mayich “received no water” during the outdoor workout on a hot day last month, and calls for the university to place the trainers “responsible for approving, conducting and supervising the session” on leave pending an independent investigation.
The players’ letter says that, to “our knowledge, no one involved has been placed on leave, suspended or disciplined. The head coach who selected the instructor and scheduled the session continues to lead our program.”
It urges that the team’s coaching staff be replaced “for the period of the investigation if the facts set out in this report, together with what the investigation finds, indicate that step is appropriate.”
Also on Monday, the Arizona State Legislature’s House and Senate education chairs, Republicans Matt Gress and Hildy Angius, announced on X that they’re calling for an independent investigation into the Aug. 20 training session. In a news release, they said they have asked the state’s Board of Regents to retain an independent investigator.
Mayich struggled near end of workout, ASU report says
According to Rund’s report, during the workout, a “break was taken approximately 20 minutes into the event for the student athletes to drink water.” However, the letter from the players alleges “Matthew, and many of us, did not get water at any point.”
Rund, ASU’s senior vice-president of educational outreach and student services, said coaches asked permission for Timothy Ziesel, 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 said.
Near the end of the workout, “Matthew appeared to struggle, and then in rapid succession stumbled, dropped the medicine ball and fell to the ground,” Rund wrote. “He attempted to get up and resume running, but fell to his knees.”
Rund also announced that ASU would have a panel of experts provide best-practice recommendations.
The players’ letter alleges that when “those of us who reached the water drank, Ziesel stood behind us and declared that he did not get water in combat.”
The players also ask for answers to 19 questions, including:
- Who approved Ziesel to work with the team and when?
- Why was the strength and conditioning coach, who head coach Greg Powers says runs the team’s workouts, excluded from planning or reviewing the Aug. 20 session, and who made that decision?
- Why was no one assigned to monitor each player for signs of heat illness, including altered consciousness?
- Was the team physician contacted? If not, why not?
- Why did the ASU review rely on an off-site weather station?
- Did anyone verify Ziesel’s first-aid, CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) certifications?
Arizona State University in Tempe is seen in a drone shot on Sept. 17. (Andrew Hernandez/CBC)
Mayich family ‘grateful’ to teammates
In a statement shared with media Tuesday afternoon by Rob Carey, the Mayich family’s lawyer, Matthew’s parents, John and Christina, said they were “so grateful to Matthew’s teammates. A lot of you have come by, sent messages and kept Matthew in your thoughts every day. It means more to us than we can say.”
The family said they “want this [hockey] team to have a great season, and we’ll be cheering for you. But the coaches who ran that workout on Aug. 20 need to be removed while an independent investigation gets to the truth. The players shouldn’t have to worry about retaliation from the people they report to every day.”
In their letter, the players also made several requests, including that:
- Written findings be issued on whether each requirement of the Outside Consultants and Exertional Heat Illness policies was met on Aug. 20.
- The staff responsible for approving, conducting and supervising the workout session be placed on administrative leave pending an independent investigation.
- The investigation be referred to an agency outside the university.
- There be confirmation in writing that no player will lose a scholarship, roster position or playing time for participating in any investigation or in this report, and that each will be protected from retaliation if their identities are revealed.
When asked for comment, Chris Fiscus, ASU vice-president of media relations and strategic communications, told CBC News on Tuesday afternoon that the university “will respond later today.” At the time of publication, no response had been provided.
Family ‘praying for a miracle’
Last week, Carey said “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 … a wonderful person.”
According to Carey, “when Matthew went down [during the workout], 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.”
Mayich played minor hockey with the Hamilton Huskies between 2016 and 2020. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL draft by the St. Louis Blues.
Doug Armstrong, the Blues’ president of hockey operations, said in a news release in late August, “The entire Blues organization is keeping Matthew Mayich close to our hearts as we pray for his comfort and recovery while he continues to undergo medical treatment in Arizona.”
The organization also extends its “deepest support” to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time, Armstrong said.