BIOGRAPHY AND WIKIPEDIA: Abakar Kazbekov, an 18-year-old Ontario hockey player, died on Saturday after falling from a downtown London, Ontario apartment building

Abakar Kazbekov, an 18-year-old Ontario hockey player, died on Saturday after falling from a downtown London, Ontario apartment building.

“Around 8:20 a.m., London Police Service officers were dispatched to the intersection of Dufferin Avenue and Talbot Street in search of a person who had allegedly fallen from the building,” said LPS Const. Travis Buckle.

“When officers arrived, they discovered a deceased individual,” he explained.

The team and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) later released a statement confirming the 18-year-old’s death.

Since the start of last season, he had played 21 games for the Knights, registering two points.

“There are so many words to use – I’m devastated and heartbroken,” Marty Iazovtsky, Kazbekov’s agent at the ATA Sport Management firm, said. “Abakar has a huge family – nine brothers and sisters back home. He loved his family. He was a strong boy and very disciplined with an excellent work ethic.

“He was just a good kid.” Sources tell The Free Press Kazbekov’s death occurred downtown, where London police on Saturday morning closed an intersection after a body was found outside a luxury condo highrise. Police tape cordoned off Talbot Street near Dufferin Avenue, outside the Azure Condominiums. Police, called to the scene around 8 a.m. Saturday, said they do not suspect foul play.

Iazovtsky was first approached by Kazbekov’s father Zaur five years ago to pave a way to Canada for Abakar’s older brother Gadzhi, who ended up playing in the Toronto Red Wings minor hockey organization.

“After we did that, he told me he had another son he wanted to bring here,” Iazovtsky said. “We went through that whole process of getting him cleared for the standards of the OHL. I thought Abakar was great. He was one of the boys who didn’t let a language barrier bother him. I’ve seen teams where you have an outsider that gets treated like one. He was an outsider but got treated as one of the guys right away.

“He picked up the language, what it takes to be a Canadian and fell right into it.”

Kazbekov attended the Everest Hockey Academy run in Vaughan by North Bay Battalion assistant GM Johnny Winstanley while playing and excelling for the Kings. He wasn’t eligible for the OHL priority selection but the Knights made him the first overall pick in the 2021 U18 draft.

Kazbekov played in the Knights’ 5-2 win over the Owen Sound Attack on Friday night, and his death occurred in downtown London, according to a report from The London Free Press. Police were called to an intersection outside the Azure Condominiums around 8:00 a.m. after a body was found at that location.

Police closed the intersection to investigate the scene, and foul play is not suspected in Kazbekov’s death.

Kazbekov was a first-round pick by the Knights in the 2021 under-18 draft and spent the last two years with the team. In 21 games with the Knights, Kazbekov recorded one goal and one assist.