Arizona State hockey prospect Matthew Mayich remains hospitalized in critical condition after collapsing during a strenuous outdoor workout in Tempe last week, and the details around that session are raising serious questions.
Mayich, 21, was taking part in an hour-long workout on Thursday morning at Sun Angel Stadium when he went down, with investigators believing he may have suffered a cardiac event. Tempe Fire Medical Rescue responded to a call about a “heat-related illness” around 8:31 a.m., treated him at the scene and then transported him to a local hospital. Five days later, he was still in a coma.
The workout itself, according to The Athletic, was described as “both atypical and extreme.” It reportedly included sprints, planks, push-ups and bear crawls, with players required to repeat instructions back to former Green Beret Tim Ziesel and keep an accurate count during each exercise.
Groups that lagged behind or made errors were said to have been forced into extra sprints or more exercises, and players were reportedly told not to complain. The session finished with a medicine-ball run that had players sprint the length of a football field and back, though Ziesel reportedly left before that portion ended.
Conditions were brutal. The workout took place in extreme heat in Phoenix, where temperatures reached 106 degrees that afternoon and the average temperature that day was 92.5 degrees.
Ziesel, who does not work for Arizona State, has declined to discuss the workout. He told The Arizona Republic that he “didn’t know the whole situation.”
Arizona State said it has opened a review into what happened. Chris Fiscus, the university’s vice president of media relations, said the school “is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the workout.” An ASU spokesperson also said the university follows the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s heat guidelines and has rules in place for outside groups working with student-athletes.
Mayich had transferred to Arizona State this offseason from Clarkson University after starting his college career there. Before college, he played four seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s.
The St. Louis Blues drafted him in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, and he attended two Blues prospect camps without signing an entry-level contract.
The Blues said they are still standing with him and his family. “The entire Blues organization is keeping Matthew Mayich close to our hearts as we pray for his comfort and recovery,” the team said.
His cousin, Victoria Beara, said the family has been moved by the response. “Even though we are going through this heartbreak, it is truly such a blessing to see everyone praying,” Beara told The Arizona Republic.
Mayich was one of 18 new faces on the roster, a detail that matters because NCAA heat safety guidelines warn that players adjusting to a new program and hotter climate are often at the highest risk.
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