Staff Sergeant Phillip Boissonneault of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Tertyshny suffered severe lacerations from the propeller of a rented boat's outboard motor.

Boating with Tertyshny on Okanagan Lake about three hours east of Vancouver were two members of the club's minor league affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms -- left wing Francis Belanger, who drove the boat, and defenseman Mihail Chernov.

Boissonneault said Tertyshny was kneeling on one of the seats in the front of the boat when he was flipped from the vessel after it hit a wave. The boat went over his body and he was sliced in the neck area by the propeller.

Despite the severe injuries, Boissonneault said Tertyshny came to the surface, swam toward the boat and was brought on board.

``They got him back into the boat and it appears he died on the boat,'' Boissonneault said. ``It appears it was a massive loss of blood.''

The three players were among 11 from the organization that were in Kelowna for a power skating clinic.

In his first NHL season, Tertyshny registered two goals and eight assists with 30 penalty minutes. He played in one playoff game.

``When something like this happens, the least of my worries is the hockey team. We'll have players,'' Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said. ``You worry about Tertyshny's family and you worry about all the other things you think about when a young man passes away.''

Tertyshny's wife, Pauline, is in Russia, where his body will be transported. A sixth-round draft choice in 1995, he was a native of Chelyabinsk.