The Ayr Centennials are mourning one of their own.
Eli Palfreyman, captain of the Canadian Junior ice hockey team Ayr Centennials, passed away Aug. 31 after collapsing during a tournament. He was 20.
According to CBC, Palfreyman was in the locker room during the second intermission of a pre-season game when he collapsed. His mother—who is a nurse—reportedly rushed into the locker room as the team’s trainer started chest compressions on the athlete.
By the time Palfreyman was placed in an ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital, Brian Shantz, vice president of the Centennials, told CBC that his pulse had become faint. The athlete died shortly after.
“Eli was the wonderful captain that we were looking forward to have,” Shantz shared Sept. 1 in a statement to CBC. “As a captain on the ice, nobody took liberties with any of our players or they were going to hear from Eli. The other players respected him for that. They knew that he had their back.”
