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Former Pittsburgh Penguin and NHL member, Adam Johnson, 29, died at North General Hospital in Sheffield England following a skate incident on the rink at the Utilita Arena during the Champions Cup Game on Oct. 28, according to a release by the South Yorkshire area coroner Tanyka Rawden.
Johnson was playing for the Nottingham Panthers in the Elite Ice Hockey League at the time of the deadly skating collision.
Matt Petgrave, 31, who plays for the Sheffield Steelers, was wearing the skate that slashed Johnson's throat, ESPN reports. The man the police arrested on manslaughter charges on Nov. 14, has not been identified and remains in police custody.
"A post-mortem examination confirmed he died as a result of a fatal neck injury," as stated in a release by the South Yorkshire Police on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
"Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive enquiries ever since to piece together the events which led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances," South Yorkshire Chief Superintendent Becs Horsfall said. "We have been speaking to highly specialised experts in their field to assist in our enquiries and continue to work closely with the health and safety department at Sheffield City Council, which is supporting our ongoing investigation."
Petgrave's X account on the site previously known as Twitter was set private following the deadly skating collision.
The coroner urged the use of neckguards in her report, something the English Ice Hockey Association announced two days after Johnson's death that it would make mandatory starting in 2024, according to the organization's website.
Following Johnson’s death, his current team the Panthers about a statement about the deadly incident on X (formerly known as Twitter) which the team referred to as a “freak accident."
Johnson, who was originally from Minnesota, played for the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019 and 2020, appearing in a total of 13 games.
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