Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Vyacheslav Fetisov, a hockey hall of famer, was named chairman of Russia's national league as the organization tries to recover from the death of New York Rangers first-round pick Alexei Cherepanov.

Former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Fetisov was elected at a board meeting in Moscow today, the league said on its Web site. He was head of Russia's federal sports agency for four years and became a senator from Russia's Primorsky region on Oct. 17.

Fetisov is replacing Sergei Naryshkin, chief of staff of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who will head the league's newly created advisory board. Fetisov won the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup twice as a player with Detroit and once as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils. He was European Player of the Year three times.

He takes over as a special commission set up by the Russian league looks at the Oct. 13 death of Cherepanov, who suffered acute heart failure after collapsing during Avangard Omsk's game against Vityaz Chekhov outside Moscow. The 19-year-old, who hadn't played for the Rangers, was the New York team's top pick in the 2007 draft.

An ambulance posted to the arena was away from the site when the player collapsed, the Continental Hockey League said earlier this month. The Duma, Russia's lower house of Parliament, is looking at why medical personnel weren't stationed at the facility.

The league, known by the initials KHL, extended its own investigation until Nov. 14, state-run RIA Novosti reported, citing Naryshkin.

The KHL will conduct extensive medical testing of players, and two ambulances will be on duty during league games, with additional medical personnel seated behind team benches, the Moscow-based news service cited the official as saying.

The league, which includes 24 clubs from Russia, Belarus and Latvia, plans to expand to East Asia in the next five years and woo teams from China, Japan and South Korea, Fetisov said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Abelsky in St. Petersburg at pabelsky@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 21, 2008 13:16 EDT