Arizona State released the initial findings of its investigation into the Sun Devils hockey team’s off-ice workout that led to St. Louis Blues prospect Matthew Mayich’s hospitalization for the past month.
The findings were submitted to school president Michael Crow in the form of a letter written by James Rund, the school’s vice president of educational outreach and student services.
The 21-year-old Mayich collapsed during an Aug. 20 workout in elevated heat and humidity led by an ex-Green Beret, Timothy Ziesel. The Stoney Creek, Ont. native remains in critical condition and the attorney for his family, Rob Carey, says the former Ottawa 67’s forward is unlikely to recover.
According to the investigation, Mayich took ill during a latter portion of the workout in which players were running with a medicine ball as part of a wind-down exercise.
“Student-athletes completed this wind-down in groups,” the letter read. “Matthew was in one of the later groups to complete this exercise. When running, Matthew appeared to struggle, and then in rapid succession stumbled, dropped the medicine ball, and fell to the ground. He attempted to get up and resume running, but fell to his knees.”
The athletic trainer called 911 as Mayich’s condition was deteriorating and he would be taken by ambulance to hospital where he remains.
The school says its investigation will continue, as will a concurrent one being conducted by the ASU Police Department. The police findings will be offered to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for an independent review. The school says over 20 individuals have been interviewed thus far.
The investigation found that while the hockey team received permission for Ziesel to speak to the players, it did not submit an activity plan for review by the school’s strength and conditioning coaches ahead of time. Ziesel had initially been introduced to the team by James Fairorth, an ASU supporter, this past January.
Still, no blame for the incident has been assigned by the review. The review calls for the establishment of a “blue-ribbon panel” to “advise us on best practices can only further our commitment to the wellness of our student-athletes.”
In light of the letter, Carey provided a statement to The Athletic’s Katie Strang, Nathan Fenno and Adam Kilgore, calling the findings “mind-boggling.”
“This report, it’s more advocacy than fact-finding,” Carey said. “It completely misses the point. I’m just blown away that they’re offering up a committee to come up with new policies. The problem is not that ASU lacked policies. The problem is, no one followed them. They literally violated every policy they have, and their conclusion is, ‘Let’s call for a blue-ribbon panel to tell us about policies?’ Mind-boggling. We’re a month later, and ASU’s report holds no one accountable.”
Mayich transferred to ASU over the spring. He spent last season at Clarkson. From 2021 to 2025, Mayich played in the Ontario Hockey League. He was taken with the 170th overall selection of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
