A 16-year-old prospect for a Canadian junior hockey team died Monday while skating during practice.
Photi Sotiropoulos of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League said Jordan Boyd felt some discomfort during a wind sprint on the ice.
The team, Acadie-Bathurst Titan, said in a statement that Boyd collapsed and was taken to a hospital. A first responder attempted to revive Boyd before he was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died, Sotiropoulos said.
An autopsy has been ordered.
The club said Boyd had a medical evaluation before training camp and didn't appear to have health issues that prevented him from playing. Sotiropoulos said he was cleared to compete by the team doctor.
''It's very odd this would happen,'' said Sotiropoulos, who added there has been only one other training camp death in the league's 30-year history. ''It was horrifying news this morning. When you find out he was just 16 years old, that I think is the most tragic part.''
Sotiropoulos said Boyd's father was watching the workout when his son collapsed. The family declined comment through the team.
The 5-foot-11 forward is described by Paul MacIsaac, the past president of the Bedford Blues in Halifax, as a gifted player who had a bright hockey future.
MacIsaac added that Boyd had improved his offensive skills during his bantam season in 2011-12.
''He was an excellent hockey player. He had quite a potential career and life in front of him,'' MacIsaac said in a telephone interview.
Boyd played last year for the Rothesay Netherwood School, a private school near Saint John, New Brunswick, where he was noticed by the Titan organization.
The league's website says he was the team's fourth-round draft pick, No. 66 overall.
''It's shocking. It's devastating. It's unbelievable. A young and strong and healthy person on his way to chase a dream is now gone,'' MacIsaac said. ''He was a big, strong kid. There were no health issues that anybody would have known of.''
