High School Hockey Player Dies After Collapsing on the Ice During Charity Event

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A teenage hockey player died Saturday night after collapsing during a charity game on Long Island. Connor Kasin, 17, was skating at Town of Oyster Bay Skating Center in Bethpage, New York, during an intermission in the game when he collapsed, Newsday reported. Bystanders performed CPR on Kasin, but he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Kasin was a senior at Massapequa High School and a member of the Long Island Sharks under-18 hockey team.

His exact cause of death remained unclear on Sunday afternoon.

“Connor was a cherished member of our school community, known for his kindness, positivity, enthusiasm, and big smile,” Massapequa Public Schools Superintendent William Brennan told WABC. “He had a way of bringing light and joy to those around him, and his absence will be felt deeply by all of us.”

Kasin was participating in a charity hockey game for the family of another Long Island teenager who died young.

Proceeds from the game went to a foundation set up by the family of Sabrina Navaretta. Navaretta was a 19-year-old graduate of Syosset High School who was killed in a car crash at the University of Delaware in April 2023. Following her death, her family established a foundation to give scholarships to high schoolers in her honor.

'Our hearts go out to Connor and his family,' Navaretta’s parents told Newsday. 'They are in our thoughts and prayers.'

So sad to learn of the passing of Connor Kasin, a 12th grade student from Massapequa who tragically passed away while playing in a charity hockey game.

My thoughts and prayers are with Connor’s family & the entire Massapequa community as they mourn this terrible loss. pic.twitter.com/OJZGrBwh12

— Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (@RepDesposito) December 1, 2024

Massapequa High said it would provide counseling services to staff and students beginning Sunday and continuing through the week.

On the ice, Kasin was a defenseman capable of playing on either side of a pairing. On a recruiting site, he described himself as “an overall defensive defenseman when it comes to my style of play. My goals are to get into a great college that provides me with both excellent coaching and education.”

–by Joseph Wilkinson

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