He played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), two in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League (CFIHL)/ Slovak Extraliga and one in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Initially a soccer player, like his father (who played professionally), Demitra only began to focus on hockey when he was 15. It was said that 2 people did survive but one of the tragedies was former LA Kings Star Pavol Demitra. I say a lot. Several players were about to make their debut with the team, including former National Hockey League (NHL) players Ruslan Salei, Pavol Demitra, and Kārlis Skrastiņš. imposes sanctions on Hong Kong officials, including Carrie LamFlower theft caught on camera at South Surrey restaurant Detroit Red Wings prospect Stefan Liv was also listed on the roster. President Dmitry Medvedev also planned to tour the crash site.Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is a leading force in Russian hockey and came third in the KHL last year.The Russian team featured several top European players and former NHL stars, including Slovakian forward and national team captain Pavol Demitra, who played in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks.Other top names on the team include Russian defenceman Ruslan Salei and Swedish goalie Stefan Liv.The KHL is an international club league that pits together teams from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Slovakia. The ministry said the plane had 45 people on board, including 37 passengers and eight crew.Former Vancouver Canuck Pavol Demitra was on board and died in the crash, his agent confirmed Wednesday. A “R.I.P. McCrimmon played with the Calgary Flames when they won the Stanley Cup in 1989.Officials said Russian player Alexander Galimov survived the crash along with a crewmember.Eleven foreign players were reportedly onboard the jet. Both are in critical condition.A Czech Embassy official told the Associated Press that former NHL players Josef Vasicek and Karel Rachunek were among those killed. Experts blame the poor safety record on the age of the aircraft, weak government controls, poor pilot training and a cost-cutting mentality.Medvedev has announced plans to take aging Soviet-built planes out of service starting next year. “I saw them pulling bodies to the shore, some still in their seats with seatbelts on.”Prime Minister Vladimir Putin immediately sent the country’s transport minister to the site, 15 kilometres east of Yaroslavl. Pavol Demitra was a Slovak professional ice hockey player died from a plane crash he was 36.. Latvian officials onfirmed the death of former NHL defenseman Karlis Skrastins.Locomotiv Coach Brad McCrimmon, a former NHL defenseman who worked as assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings, also died in the crash.The weather was sunny and clear at the time of the accident, according to an Associated Press report.Officials did not immediately release the names of all of the players and coaches who were on board, but former Ducks defenseman Ruslan Salei was among the players listed on the Lokomotiv roster.Demitra, 36, played with the Kings during the 2005-06 season, finishing third in team scoring with 62 points. McCrimmon took over as head coach in May.A native of Saskatchewan, the 52-year-old was most recently an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings, and played for years in the NHL for Boston, Philadelphia, Calgary, Detroit, Hartford and Phoenix. A Czech Embassy official said Czech players Josef Vasicek, Karel Rachunek and Jan Marek were among those killed, and Latvian officials confirmed the death of Latvian defenceman Karlis Skrastins.The plane that crashed was relatively new, built in 1993, and belonged to a small Moscow-based Yak Service company.Swarms of police and rescue crews rushed to Tunoshna, a picturesque village with a blue-domed church on the banks of the Volga River. A “R.I.P. The crash of that Tu-134 plane has been blamed on pilot error.In other plane crashes involving sports teams, 75 Marshall University football players, coaches, fans and airplane crew died in a plane crash in Kentucky on Nov. 17, 1970 on the way home from a game.Thirty members of the Uruguayan rugby club Old Christians were killed in a crash in the Andes in 1972.The entire 18-member U.S. figure skating team died in a crash on their way to the 1961 world championships in Brussels.In 1949, the Torino soccer team lost 18 players near Turin, Italy, while the Munich air crash of 1958 cost eight Manchester United players their lives.The Vancouver Canucks, the team Demitra spent two seasons with, released the following statement following the news of his passing today.Get a roundup of the most important and intriguing national stories delivered to your inbox every weekday.Get a roundup of the most important and intriguing national stories delivered to your inbox every weekday. Lokomotiv was a three-time Russian League champion in 1997, 2002-2003. Pavol Demitra” The KHL confirmed that Canadian Brad McCrimmon was among the dead.