Bouwmeester collapses on bench, Ducks-Blues postponed
Ivan Barbashev #49, Colton Parayko #55, Jay Bouwmeester #19, and Mackenzie MacEachern #28 of the St. Louis Blues celebrate Barbashev's first period goal during the game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on February 11, 2020 in Anaheim, Califo (Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester collapsed on the bench during a break in play in the first period, prompting the Blues and Anaheim Ducks to postpone their game Tuesday night.
Bouwmeester appeared to be awake and alert as he was being transported out of the arena to a hospital. St. Louis’ radio announcer Chris Kerber said during an interview with the team’s flagship station that a defibrillator was used.
The Blues have not provided any official medical updates.
Teammates Vince Dunn and Alex Pietrangelo immediately called for help after Bouwmeester slumped over with 7:50 left in the first period. After a couple of minutes, Bouwmeester was taken out on a stretcher through a tunnel next to the Blues bench and transported to a hospital.
Bouwmeester appeared to be grabbing a drink of water when he began to slowly fall. Emergency medical personnel rushed to the Blues bench.
Bouwmeester’s father was at the game as part of the team’s annual Dads Trip. He went with his son to the hospital while teammates and their fathers remained at the arena awaiting updates.
Ducks and Blues players gathered to see what was wrong before Bouwmeester was taken away. Both teams then went to their dressing rooms, and the game was called off a few minutes later tied at 1.
Players from both teams met for hugs and well-wishes after changing out of their gear. The game will be made up at a later date.
The Blues were supposed to fly to Las Vegas, where they are scheduled to play on Thursday, but they will remain in Southern California until they learn more about Bouwmeester’s status.
The 36-year-old Bouwmeester is in his 17th NHL season and has for that time been known for his strong skating and conditioning. He helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup last season and won an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2014.
Bouwmeester was skating in his 57th game this season, the 1,241st of his NHL career. He skated 1:20 in his last shift before collapsing and logged 5:34 of ice time in the game.
The Blues in April signed the veteran defenseman to a $3.25 million, one-year deal for this season.
Bouwmeester held one of the longest ironman streaks in NHL history with 737 consecutive regular season games played until a lower-body injury in 2014. He missed time in 2015-16 with a concussion, and a hip injury ended his 2017-18 season.
He played all but four games last year and hasn’t missed a game this season.
The last player to collapse on an NHL bench was Dallas forward Rich Peverley in 2014. Peverley had an irregular heartbeat, and the quick response of emergency officials made sure he was OK.
The NHL has pages of emergency medical standards that spell out in specific detail that at least two doctors must be in attendance for every game and one must be within 50 feet of the bench. A defibrillator, which was used when Detroit’s Jiri Fischer collapsed in 2005, must be available, along with a triage room and ambulances.