Sad news from Russia, where reports say a plane carrying KHL team HC Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed shortly after takeoff, killing dozens. At this moment, it’s believe that 36 of the 37 players on the plane were killed, 43 people killed in total, and two people surviving with what is described as “grave” injuries. The plane went down shortly after takeoff from Yaroslavl, but weather is not believed to be a factor. For more information on the tragedy, continue after the jump.
Bryan Vickroy
The team was flying from Yaroslavl to Minsk, Belarus, for the first game of the KHL season for both teams. The team was flying on a YAK-42 jet, a type of jet that was briefly banned by Europe in 2009 due to safety issues. When new of the crash broke, the first game of the season was actually being played in Ufa. That game was immediately interrupted, then postponed. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is one of the premier teams in the Continental Hockey League (KHL), winning their division last season, but lost in the Conference Finals in six games. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl has one three league titles in its history, most recently winning back to back championships in 2002 and 2003.
At this moment, it is unknown who exactly was on the plane. It’s being reported that the entire team roster, as well as a handful of youth players, were on the plane. Several NHL veterans were on the Lokomotiv roster, including former Minnesota Wild and St Louis Blues standout Pavol Demitra, and defenseman Ruslan Salei. The coach of the team was former Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Brad McCrimmon. Below is a list of the players named on the Lokomotiv roster.
G Stefan Liv
G Olexander Viyukhin
D Artur Amirov
D Mikhail Balandin
D Vitali Anikeyenko
D Robert Dietrich
D Marat Kalimulin
D Karel Rachunek
D Ruslan Salei
D Karlis Skrastins
D Pavel Trakhanov
D Yuri Urychev
F Gennadi Churilov
F Pavol Demitra
F Alexander Galimov
F Alexander Kalyanin
F Andrei Kiryukhin
F Nikita Klyukin
F Jan Marek
F Sergei Ostapchuk
F Danill Sobchenko
F Ivan Tkachenko
F Josef Vasicek
F Alexander Vasyunov
F Artem Yarchuk
F Danil Yerdakov
As news of this tragedy continues to be released, we will continue to stay on top of the information here at The Sports Bank. Our condolences to all those involved in this tragic time.
Bryan Vickroy has an addiction to hockey, and is willing to partake in all its forms. He is skating extra shifts for The Sports Bank, covering the Minnesota Wild, the NHL, and NCAA hockey all year long. Look for new articles throughout the week. He can be followed on Twitter at @bryanvickroy. If you’d prefer to speak in more than 140 characters at a time to him, he can be reached at bryan.vickroy@gmail.com .