Who was ice hockey star Adam Johnson and what happened to him?

THE sporting world has gone into mourning as ice hockey star Adam Johnson tragically passed away after a freak accident.

Horrified fans were asked to leave the stadium in Sheffield following the "major medical emergency" on Saturday evening.

And tributes are now flooding in as the Nottingham Panthers confirmed the horrible news early hours of the morning.

Who was Adam Johnson?

Born on June, 22, 1994, Adam Johnson was an American professional ice hockey forward.

The ice hockey star played with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and Johnson also played in Europe with Malmo Redhawks, Augburger Panther and Nottingham Panthers.

Johnson was raised in Hibbing, Minnesota where he graduated from high school before playing junior hockey with the Indiana Ice and Sioux City Musketeers.

Following his sophomore season with the Bulldogs in 2016/2017, netting 18 goals and tallied 37 points in 42 games, Johnson scured Minnesota Duluth's berth in the 2017 Frozen Four when he scored an overtime, power-play goal to defeat Boston University.

Adam then attended the Pittsburg Penguins prospect development camp before agreeing to a two-year, entry-level contract with the Penguins on July 6, 2017.

What happened to Adam Johnson?

According to witnesses, former NFL star Johnson, 29, suffered a gash to his throat in the freak accident.

The game between his new team the Nottingham Panthers and the Sheffield Steelers had to be abandoned.

Johnson's mother Kari said: "I lost half of my heart tonight."

The team said: "The Nottingham Panthers are truly devastated to announce that Adam Johnson has tragically passed away following a freak accident at the game in Sheffield last night."

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said last night: "We were called at 8:21 this evening to the Sheffield Steeler's game at Sheffield arena.

"We attended a male and sent two ambulances and a critical care paramedic, and we sent one patient to hospital."

Eye witnesses says players from both teams formed a ring around Johnson as apparently there was quite a lot of blood.

Around 8,000 fans are believed to have witnessed the horror collision between the two players at Utilita Arena Sheffield.