Plane Carrying KHL Team Crashes

[Narg CC]

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/artic ... ng-36?bn=1

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=587792

36 of 37 dead, one in critical condition. Roster included Demitra, Rachunek, Salei, Skrastins, Vasicek.. no confirmation yet on which players were on the plane.

I can't believe how horrible this off-season has been

[Hockey Widow]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2 ... ml?cmp=rss

Another article on the same thing. My god what is going on!

Colby Armstrong's brother may also have been on the plane as he is on the roster.

[Per]

Damn!

[Fred]

What a tragedy, sounds eerily similar to the Manchester U Munich air disaster.

[LotusBlossom]

OMG, that is so sad. The families of those players and plane crew members.

What a horrible off-season indeed.

[Jovorock]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2 ... ml?cmp=rss

Another article on the same thing. My god what is going on!

Colby Armstrong's brother may also have been on the plane as he is on the roster.

Riley tweeted afterwards

"Shortly after news of the crash emerged, Riley Armstrong posted a Twitter message saying he was not on board the flight because he is attending a team training camp in St. John's.

"I'm safe but thanks for the kind words," he said on Twitter. "Pray and think of the players and their families on that flight."



What about the coach Brad McCrimmon?

[Jovocop]

What a terrible offseason for hockey players... RIP, all the players on board of the flight...

[Eddy Punch Clock]

Touching picture Colonel Corn dug up...



I'm sure the Canucks will now add Demitra to the inevitable season home opening ceremony for Rypien.

[jackalman]

RIP to those on board. Good luck to the survivor. What a tragic day!

[mathonwy]

RIP Demo, RIP Brad McCrimmon, RIP Salei, RIP Skrastins, etc etc etc...

Whoever it is, they're playing a hell of a joke on the hockey world this year..

[rats19]

RIP...all

man o man....

[Eddy Punch Clock]

RIP Demo, RIP Brad McCrimmon, RIP Salei, RIP Skrastins, etc etc etc...

Whoever it is, they're playing a hell of a joke on the hockey world this year..

If it helps, I heard Botch say Salei wasn't on the plane.

He also said that Gillis told him he is looking into ways to help the players deal with what has happened not only this summer, but over the past few years.

There are a lot of current Canuck players that have had to deal with Luc Bourdons death, Taylor Pyatt's fiancee, Rick Rypiens death and now Pavol Demitra all in a relatively short time span. Even Malhotra's injury and the death of the other two enforcers this summer must add to mental strain these guys are dealing with.
---------------

btw- I know this is the KHL, but it has also rocked the entire hockey world. I really think Crosby should have postponed his presser. He's due to go on in two minutes.

[mathonwy]

Roster
G Liv Stefan
G Vyukhin Alexander
D Trakhanov Pavel
D Rachunek Karel
D Dietrich Robert
D Salei Ruslan
D Skrastins Karlis
D Balandin Mikhail
D Anikeenko Vitaly
D Kalimulin Marat
D Urychev Yuri
F Galimov Alexander
F Sobchenko Daniil
F Marek Jan
F Tkachenko Ivan
F Vasyunov Alexander
F Churilov Gennady
F Klyukin Nikita
F Kalyanin Alexander
F Ostapchuk Sergei
F Demitra Pavol
F Vasicek Josef
F Kiryukhin Andrei

Coaching staff
Brad McCrimmon
Valtonen Jorma
Karpovtsev Alexander
Korolev Igor

[Rayxor]

RIP Demo, RIP Brad McCrimmon, RIP Salei, RIP Skrastins, etc etc etc...
There are a lot of current Canuck players that have had to deal with Luc Bourdons death, Taylor Pyatt's fiancee, Rick Rypiens death and now Pavol Demitra all in a relatively short time span. Even Malhotra's injury and the death of the other two enforcers this summer must add to mental strain these guys are dealing with.

I'm glad Pyatt's fiancee was mentioned in this. The wives of the players are often good friends with each other and this would have impacted the home lives of many players on the team. We talk about players battling depression but you can't ignore the possibility of several wives having a hard time dealing with the loss of a common friend. Add to this the players spending so much time away from their wives, many of them being in a new city and/or burdened with kids and running the household.

I wonder how many teams have a full time psychologist employed by them. I wonder how many will have one by the end of this season. Its the summer that every professional hockey player would like to forget.

[Strangelove]

WOW, the Summer of Death continues....