As the criminal investigation into the death of a Minnesota hockey player who died on the ice after being slashed in the neck with an opponent's skate during a professional game last fall has dragged on for more than six months, police in England have pointed to the complexity of the investigation. There is.
Hibbing High School star Adam Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers on Oct. 28 when he was carrying the puck into the offensive zone when he was struck by the skate blade of Sheffield Steelers defenseman Matt Petgrave. stuck under the helmet. Mr. Johnson had a cut to his neck and died at the hospital.
More than two weeks later, police arrested Petgrave on suspicion of manslaughter. He was quickly released on bail as inquiries continued, and on Tuesday his bail was renewed until June 26th.
“Adam's loved ones remain our top priority as this complex investigation continues,” police said in a statement announcing the bail extension, without providing any other information about the case. Ta.
“Any developments before the new bail deadline will be proactively announced on the South Yorkshire Police website,” the statement continued.
After graduating from Hibbing High, Johnson played two years with the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs and played 13 games with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins before heading to Europe and eventually joining the Nottingham Panthers of England's Elite Hockey League. I joined the team.
One of Johnson's Nottingham teammates who was on the ice at the time of the injury spoke out this week, warning people not to judge Petgrave's actions prematurely.
Victor Bjorkun said in an interview with BBC Sport: “The people on the ice and the people in the stands know that no one wants this to happen.”
Bjorkun continued: “This is a very unusual accident, and it happened very quickly.” “You can watch the video, zoom in, slow it down, do all different things. It's so easy to sit in the stands and think, 'He did that, he did this.' But if you look at it in real time, you'll see that it's too fast to tell.”
Bjorkun, who played junior hockey in Fargo and Sioux Falls before skating for two seasons at Ohio State, said he mostly remembers when Johnson was injured and the immediate aftermath.
“It still feels surreal,” said the Swedish defenseman. He currently plays professionally in Slovakia. “I get flashbacks a lot, and they're not very fun.”
