<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, one of the KHL's\u00A0strongest teams, has been destroyed by tragedy. (AP Photos)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Stu Hackel&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For hockey fans, the beginning of a new season is always a joyous time, but with so much sadness infusing the sport this summer, it seems as if it will be hard to muster up the usual enthusiasm. And Wednesday's news out of Russia that the plane carrying the KHL\u00A0team Yaroslavl Lokomotiv has crashed, killing almost all of the 45 people\u00A0on board, is unquestionably the worst news of all.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the words of Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, it is \"the darkest day in the history of our sport.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Following the earlier body blows caused by the deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak, and the various controversies surrounding them all focusing on depression and addiction, Wednesday's news feels like a staggering punch.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The KHL\u00A0is considered the top professional\u00A0hockey league in Europe and second only to the NHL in the caliber of play and quality of talent. Lokomotiv's\u00A0roster was filled with top players from a number of countries, including Russia,\u00A0the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belarus and Sweden.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said the plane was carrying 37 passengers and eight crew, and all but two people were immediately killed in the crash. Those two were a flight attendant and player Alexander Galimov, who\u00A0was in a grave condition with burns over 80 percent of his body. There were conflicting reports about Galimov's\u00A0survival. The fate of the flight attendant, Alexander Sizov, was not immediately known. ITAR-TASS reported that the plane collided with a beacon antenna upon takeoff after being unable to gain safe altitude and that it crashed about 500 yards from the runway near the Volga River.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The team was heading to Minsk to play on Thursday against Dinamo\u00A0Minsk in their opening game of the Kontinental\u00A0Hockey League season. Lokomotiv\u00A0press attach\u00E9 Vladimir Malkov told Sovetsky Sport that the entire roster was on the trip, including four players from their junior team.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Lokomotiv\u00A0had some names in\u00A0its organization that are familiar to NHL fans (and the links accompanying each name go to stories that reflect on their lives in the aftermath of Wednesday's crash), starting with head coach Brad McCrimmon, the former NHL player and long-time assistant coach, most recently for the Red Wings. This was McCrimmon's first head coaching job, and\u00A0he was on his way to his first game. His assistants included former NHLers\u00A0Igor Korolev\u00A0and Alexander Karpovtsev, who\u00A0was one of the first four Russians to play on a Stanley Cup team, the 1994 Rangers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Among the former NHL players listed on the Lokomotiv\u00A0roster were Pavol\u00A0Demitra, Ruslan\u00A0Salei, Karel Rach\u016Fnek, Karlis Skrastin\u0161, Josef Vasicek, Alexander Vasyunov, and\u00A0former draft picks Stefan Liv (Red Wings),\u00A0 Robert Dietrich (Predators), Jan Marek (Rangers), Vitaly Anikienko\u00A0(Senators), Daniil Sobchenko (Sharks) and Ivan Tkachenko\u00A0(Blue Jackets). Sergei Ostapchuk played two years in the Quebec Major Junior League.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Many of these men were also stars for their home countries' national teams. But, of course, the scope of this tragedy extends well beyond North American hockey and even the European hockey community into the lives of the families of all involved, regardless of where they've played. In Russia, this is a tragedy on a national scale for a country that has taken a good measure of pride in the rise, albeit unsteady,\u00A0of the KHL\u00A0during the last few years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What this means for the KHL\u00A0is not yet clear.\u00A0It is now due to open\u00A0its season tomorrow, and there are reports that, with the exception of the Minsk-Yaroslavl match, the games will be played as scheduled with no music or entertainment during play\u00A0stoppages. Going forward with the schedule would be a very questionable decision, sure to draw criticism in many quarters. If true, the KHL perhaps believes that postponing the games\u00A0would be seen as a sign of weakness.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In\u00A0its first statement on the matter, the league said, \u201CWe are only beginning to understand the impact of this tragedy affecting the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl club and the international hockey community. First and foremost, our condolences go out to the families and friends of the players, coaches and staff lost in today\u2019s tragedy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe know that there are many in the KHL\u00A0family who will be grieving with us. As the investigation of this tragedy progresses we will work closely with investigators, government officials, club executives and the Yaroslavl community. We are working to find an appropriate way to honor this club and begin the healing process from the deep loss so many of us feel today.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe are aware that many of you have questions. This tragedy remains our primary focus. We ask for patience as we find an appropriate\u00A0way to proceed with the 2011/2012 season. We will continue to communicate our plans as they take shape.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As for the fate of Lokomotiv, professional sports leagues generally do have regulations about how to contend with these situations -- for example, reassigning a few players in a \"draft\" from each of\u00A0the remaining teams to reform the stricken\u00A0team --\u00A0but what provisions the KHL has in place are not yet known.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;KHL\u00A0president Alexander Medvedev\u00A0was attending the season's first match in Ufa between last year's KHL\u00A0championship finalists, Salavat\u00A0Yulaev, and visitors Atlant\u00A0Moscow. He stopped the game in the first period to inform the crowd of the crash, and the rest of the match was eventually canceled, prompting applause from the saddened spectators (video). who also observed a moment of silence in memory of the Yaroslavl team. Medvedev said in his remarks, \"I want to assure you that we will do everything we can to continue the highest level of hockey in Yaroslavl. The Lokomotiv\u00A0club has been one of the strongest in the KHL.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Players on the Salavat\u00A0Yulaev\u00A0and Atlant\u00A0teams were reportedly in tears in their dressing rooms. Alex Kovalev, the former NHLer, told reporters, \"I cannot talk. I had so many friends on that plane. Korolev. Karpovtsev, who I won the Stanley Cup with.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In his statement, Fasel\u00A0said, \u201CDespite the substantial\u00A0air travel of professional hockey teams, our sport has been spared from tragic traffic accidents. But only until now. This is the darkest day in the history of our sport. This is not only a Russian tragedy, the Lokomotiv roster included players and coaches from ten nations.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In Pittsburgh, Penguins GM Ray Shero opened the press conference updating Sidney Crosby's recovery from a concussion by extending the condolences of\u00A0his team and the entire NHL to the families of the victims.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Adam Proteau, the fine writer for &lt;em&gt;The Hockey News&lt;/em&gt;, was scheduled to interview Blackhawks\u00A0captain Jonathan Toews\u00A0on Wednesday morning, and when he told Toews\u00A0of the crash, Proteau\u00A0tweeted, Toews eyes widened in disbelief and he said, \"This is the worst summer ever for hockey.\"\n[vodpod id=Video.15377982&amp;amp;w=425&amp;amp;h=350&amp;amp;fv=catid%3D35%26amp%3Bid%3D122451%26amp%3Bserver%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.nhl.com%2Fvideocenter%2F%26amp%3Bpageurl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.nhl.com%2Fvideocenter%2F%26amp%3Bnlwa%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fapp2.neulion.com%2Fvideocenter%2Fnhl%2F]&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nhl/home-ice/2011/09/07/khl-crash-darkens-hockeys-grim-summer>