Russian officials opened a probe into the death of New York Rangers' first-round pick Alexei Cherepanov, who collapsed on the bench during a game yesterday.

Moscow regional investor Yulia Zhukova said officials may begin a criminal investigation into the death of the 19-year-old, the Associated Press reported. Cherepanov was playing with ischemia, a condition that limits the blood flow to the heart.

Cherepanov was sitting next to former Rangers forward Jaromir Jagr when he suffered a suspected heart attack during the third period of the Continental Hockey League game outside Moscow. Avangard Omsk coach Wayne Fleming told ESPN.com that team doctors were unable to revive Cherepanov, the 17th overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft.

The Rangers observed a moment of silence in Cherepanov's memory before last night's 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

The team decided "the honorable thing to do would be to just work real hard for this young fella," coach Tom Renney said during a news conference after the Rangers moved to 5-0 for the season, matching the 1983-84 squad for the best start in franchise history.

Rangers General Manager Glen Sather said yesterday that the team was "extremely saddened" by Cherepanov's death.

"Alexei was an intelligent, energetic young man, with tremendous talent and an extremely bright future," Sather said in a statement.

The ambulance that is normally at all of the league's games had already departed yesterday and had to be called back to the arena to take Cherepanov to the hospital, TSN of Canada reported.

Cherepanov, a forward, appeared in 14 games with Avangard Omsk this season, getting seven goals and five assists.

Scoring Record

He set a Russian Super League record by scoring 18 goals as a rookie during the 2006-07 season, breaking the previous record of 17 set by Pavel Bure. His 29 points during his rookie season eclipsed the first-year RSL totals of current NHL All-Stars Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk.

"Alexei was a tremendous young man and a highly skilled hockey player whose promising career had no limits," NHL Players Association Executive Director Paul Kelly said in a statement. "His unexpected passing at such a young age is a great loss for the entire hockey community."

A native of Barnaul, Russia, Cherepanov represented his country in several elite tournaments, most recently helping Russia to a bronze medal in the 2008 U-20 World Junior Championships.