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Arizona State Hockey Player Matthew Mayich Has 'Zero Chance of Recovery,' Family Lawyer Says
Arizona State University hockey player Matthew Mayich remains hospitalized with 'zero chance of recovery' after collapsing during an August 20 team workout, according to family attorney Rob Carey. The incident has sparked an internal review and conflicting accounts about the workout's intensity.
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Family Lawyer Says ASU Hockey Player Has 'Zero Chance of Recovery'
Arizona State University hockey player Matthew Mayich is in a coma with “zero chance of recovery” after collapsing during an outdoor team workout on Aug. 20, according to the family’s lawyer, Robert Carey. Mayich, a 21-year-old sophomore defenseman, was participating in a preseason training session at the school’s track when he collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, where he remains.
Attorney Alleges 'Grueling' Conditions and False Narrative
Carey, speaking with College Hockey News, said Mayich “was disoriented and struggled well before he collapsed.” He alleged that the university is pushing a narrative of “how minimal, how soft and how easy” the 50-minute workout was, which he dismissed as false. “My investigation shows the storyline is completely false,” Carey said. “This case has shattered [Mayich’s] life. He deserves, and his family deserves, a proper investigation.”
Carey said he interviewed multiple players who described the session, led by Tim Ziesel, a retired Special Forces veteran, as “grueling” and “unbearably hard,” adding that Ziesel “yelled at them from the get-go … like a drill instructor.” According to Carey, players were told not to complain, and water was available only to those who led exercises, with whatever remained going to those who trailed. He also claimed players fear retaliation, such as loss of scholarships or positions, if they speak out. Carey called for the suspension of coaches and staff so the university can interview witnesses and conduct a proper investigation.
Dispute Over Workout's Nature and Timing
Ziesel’s attorney, Buddy Rake, disputed the characterization of the workout as extreme. "This was not a Green Beret or SEAL workout," Rake said, adding that the head coach, assistant coaches, and medical staff were always present.
The workout, which began around 8:30 m. local time, featured sprints, planks, push-ups, and bear crawls, according to a report by The Athletic. Temperatures were reported to be at least 87 degrees at the time. The session on Aug. 20 marked the first day of the fall semester, the earliest date NCAA rules permit hockey teams to begin such activities.
University Review and Background
Arizona State is conducting an internal review of the incident. University spokesperson Chris Fiscus stated, “The university is reviewing everything surrounding the workout.” Neither the university nor Ziesel has commented on the specific allegations of a cover-up.
Mayich, a native of Stoney Creek, Ontario, transferred to Arizona State after his freshman season at Clarkson University, where he recorded seven goals and eight assists in 34 games. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the sixth round (No. 170 overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft. The Blues released a statement saying, “The entire Blues organization is keeping Matthew Mayich close to our hearts as we pray for his comfort and recovery while he continues to undergo medical treatment in Arizona. His agent has kept us informed about Matthew’s medical status over the last week and we extend our deepest support to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time.”
How each outlet told it
A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.
Framing: The headline emphasizes the definitive prognosis that Matthew Mayich will not recover, as stated by his family lawyer.
Facts Included:
Matthew Mayich will not recover, according to the attorney representing his family.
Mayich, 21, is an Arizona State hockey player and St. Louis Blues prospect.
The publication College Hockey News spoke with the family’s attorney, Rob Carey.
Carey, a high-profile attorney in the sports world, also represented Ed O’Bannon and Sam Kellar.
He confirmed that Mayich, who collapsed last month during a preseason workout, has “zero chance of recovery.”
The St. Louis Blues released the following statement last week: “The entire Blues organization is keeping Matthew Mayich close to our hearts as we pray for his comfort and recovery while he continues to undergo medical treatment in Arizona. His agent has kept us informed about Matthew’s medical status over the last week and we extend our deepest support to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time.”
Mayich participated in a training session on August 20, which is the first day of the Arizona State fall semester.
The NCAA does not permit hockey teams to begin working out before the first day of the fall semester.
The Athletic reported that the hour-long workout consisted of sprints, planks, push-ups and bear crawls, with participants also verbally engaged in the exercise’s instructions and count.
Tim Ziesel, a non-university employee, conducted the workout.
USA Today reports the Arizona State hockey player collapsed during what’s being described as a ‘military-style’ workout.
Crews with the Tempe Fire Medical Rescue responded to the track at Arizona State’s facilities on August 20 around 8:30 m. locally.
Temperatures were reported to be at least 87 degrees at the time of the workout.
Carey believed the exercise was ‘grueling, onerous and’ He has simultaneously accused Arizona State of ‘pushing a false narrative’ about the workout that day.
Arizona State is now conducting an internal review.
The school reportedly does have internal heat illness guidelines in place for Arizona State hockey players and other athletes.
Matthew Mayich is hospitalized at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, according to The Arizona Republic.
Matthew Mayich, a 2023 sixth-round pick of the St. Louis Blues, transferred to Arizona State after the 2025-26 season ended.
He spent his freshman year at Clarkson University, scoring 15 points in 34 games.
Now 21, he starred for the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s for four seasons.
Elite Prospects described him as a potential future depth player in their 2023 scouting report on Mayich.
The Blues drafted Mayich at 170th overall in 2023.
Framing: Emphasizes the player's condition with a quote about zero chance of recovery — Serious and sympathetic towards the player and his family, while reporting conflicting accounts
Facts Included:
Matthew Mayich is a 21-year-old sophomore defenseman at Arizona State University
He collapsed during an outdoor team workout on Aug. 20
He is in a coma with 'zero chance of recovery' according to the family's lawyer, Robert Carey
He was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix
Carey said the workout led by Tim Ziesel, a retired Special Forces veteran, was described as 'grueling' and 'unbearably hard'
Ziesel's attorney, Buddy Rake, said the workout was not a 'Green Beret or SEAL workout' and that head coach, assistant coaches, and medical were always present
The incident occurred on the first day of a planned three-day workout with Ziesel
Mayich started his college career at Clarkson University before transferring to Arizona State
The St. Louis Blues selected him in the sixth round (No. 170 overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft
Last season with Clarkson, he scored 15 points on seven goals and eight assists
He appeared in 34 games, tallying seven goals and eight assists in his freshman season at Clarkson
Mayich, a Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada native, previously played with the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League for over 250 games
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimMatthew Mayich will not recover, according to the attorney representing his family.
ClaimThe St. Louis Blues released a statement: “The entire Blues organization is keeping Matthew Mayich close to our hearts as we pray for his comfort and recovery while he continues to undergo medical treatment in Arizona. His agent has kept us informed about Matthew’s medical status over the last week and we extend our deepest support to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time.”
ClaimThe hour-long workout consisted of sprints, planks, push-ups and bear crawls, with participants also verbally engaged in the exercise’s instructions and count.
ClaimZiesel's attorney, Buddy Rake, said the workout was not a 'Green Beret or SEAL workout' and that head coach, assistant coaches, and medical were always present.