Hurricanes player still in a coma, but showing signs of improvement
LETHBRIDGE Lethbridge Hurricanes player Ryan Vandervlis remains in a medically induced coma after suffering burns to the front of his body during a campfire accident Friday evening, team general manager Peter Anholt said Tuesday.
Anholt said Vandervlis has shown signs of progress, having been taken off dialysis on Monday.
His teammate Jordy Bellerive and former Hurricane Matt Alfaro are also still in a Calgary hospital but are in stable condition with upper-body burns. Anholt said both continue to make progress and are expected to make full recoveries.
The incident happened Friday evening during a gathering at the family home of former Hurricanes captain Tyler Wong, about 10 kilometres east of Cochrane, according to Anholt.
Wong and nine friends had started a campfire and planned to go golfing and camping the following day.
RCMP have said a substance was placed into a fire pit that caused an explosion.
“From what I understand, they’re all three sitting on the same bench, so they were all sitting beside one another,” Anholt said, referring to Vandervlis, Bellerive and Alfaro. “I think anybody who has camped, and anybody who has started a fire with wet wood, has used some sort of accelerant and this went wrong. Why it happened, I don’t know. I wasn’t there, I don’t know those details.”
Anholt said he was hopeful the ongoing police investigation would help determine how the accident happened and prevent similar incidents in the future.
Previous reports stated that the event at the Wong home had been a bachelor party. Anholt said those reports were inaccurate and have been especially troubling for the family.
“Any time that there’s reports that aren’t correct, I think we all want to make sure they’re clarified,” he said. “Tyler Wong is getting married and this happened before the wedding, so I guess you can say whatever you like as far as a pre-wedding (event). We’re talking about nine awesome kids, men, good friends, and they were getting prepared to play some golf the next day and go camping. That’s what it was, done.”
He said he’s visited both Bellerive and Alfaro in hospital over the past three days. He said both players have begun to seem more like themselves as the days have passed.
“Their personalities have continued to come out. Jordy had a number of ... former teammates and current teammates and family members around, and he was holding court in his room much like he does. That was really positive,” Anholt said.
“Matt is the same. You could see his personality start to come back the last couple days and even their injuries seem to be getting better in my mind over the last couple of days from what I’ve seen.”
He said he hasn’t been able to visit Vandervlis yet, but said he has been around the 20-year-old’s family.
“There’s so much hope and positive feel from everybody. We’re hoping that will continue for Ryan,” Anholt said.
Vandervlis, who is from Red Deer, has played for the Hurricanes for the past four seasons.
Bellerive, who led the team in points last season, has played for Lethbridge for the past three years.
The 19-year-old North Vancouver native was signed to an entrylevel contract by the Pittsburgh Penguins in September 2017.
Alfaro, 21, suited up for the Hurricanes during the 2016-17 season, his final year in the WHL. The Calgary native joined the University of Calgary men’s hockey team this past season.
Anholt said coping with the accident has been difficult for the team and each of the families involved. But he said there’s been support far and wide in the hockey community.
Counselling services will be made available to members of the Hurricanes and their families, Anholt added. A team chaplain has already met with the families of the hospitalized players in Calgary.
Hospital visitors are restricted to friends and family at the present time, but Anholt said those wishing to send their wishes in the form of get-well cards can drop them off at the Hurricanes office.
“That’s one thing that we see about the hockey business in general, of how people, former teammates, staff, fans, everybody rallies,” Anholt said. “You can really see how the passion and the care for the boys and their families, and billet families, it extends right through. It’s been amazing to be around over the last three days and see how it galvanizes the hockey community in a lot of ways.”