"I HAVE CHOSEN TO PAINT THE LIFE OF MY PEOPLE AS I KNOW AND FEEL IT--PASSIONATELY AND DISPASSIONATELY. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE ARTIST IDENTIFY WITH THE SELF-RELIANCE,HOPE AND COURAGE OF THE PEOPLE ABOUT HIM,FOR ART MUST ALWAYS GO WHERE ENERGY IS."
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Another tragedy rocks hockey world

BRUCE GARRIOCH, QMI Agency

(Clockwise from L-R) Pavel Demitra, Stefan Liv, Karlis Skrastins, Alexander Vasyunov, Ruslan Salei, Karel Rachunek, Jan Marek and Josef Vasicek were among the players with NHL ties that were killed Wednesday when a plane carrying the KHL’s Yaroslavls Lokomotiv crashed. (REUTERS/HO)

Even a world away from Russia the hockey world in North America was in a state of shock Wednesday.
As if there hadn’t already been enough off-season tragedy, teams across the NHL were rocked by the horrible news a plane carrying the KHL’s Yaroslavls Lokomotiv crashed after takeoff and killed all but one member of the team.
Preparing to open the season against Minsk Thursday, former NHL defenceman and Detroit assistant Brad McCrimmon was getting ready to make his head coaching debut with a Lokomotiv roster that included several former NHL players.
Forward Pavol Demitra along with D Ruslan Salei, F Josef Vasicek, D Karel Rachunek, F Jan Marek, F Alexander Vasyunov, D Karlis Skrastins and G Stefan Liv were among the players with NHL ties that were killed.
Longtime NHL players Igor Korolev and Alexander Karpovtsev were assistants to McCrimmon, who left Detroit this summer to pursue the Yaroslav opportunity.
“It’s a sad day in the history of hockey,” former Islanders captain Alexei Yashin, who played for Yaroslavl, told reporters in New York. “A lot of my friends were on the plane.
“It’s a tough time for everybody in the hockey world - not only in Russia, but this should touch everybody in professional sports. There’s nothing really you can say.”
Matt Keator, Demitra’s Boston-based agent, said he was in Russia three weeks ago with the Yaroslavl team. Demitra left behind his wife Mya along with two children. Demitra was close friends with Marian Hossa and Zdeno Chara.
Demitra was at Chara’s Stanley Cup party in Trencin, Slovakia last summer where they grew up with Hossa.
“They were a fun bunch. I spent some time with those guys,” said Keator. “They (were) a great group of guys. Very tight.
“Pavol was the best. He was very popular with all his teammates and he cared about them very much. People were drawn to Pavol Demitra. He was very close with a lot of guys. It’s just stunning. Bad things happen to good people sometimes and this is a great example of that.”
McCrimmon was the only Canadian aboard the plane killed. He carved out a tremendous career as a player in 18 seasons but left Detroit because he wanted to run his own program.
Officials from the Wings spent the day with McCrimmon’s wife Maureen, daughter Carlin and son Liam, who are still in Detroit. Maureen was scheduled to join her husband next week in Russia.
“It’s hard to talk about hockey in this scenario,” said Vancouver’s Mikael Samuelsson, who was coached by McCrimmon for one year. “As a guy, he was a great guy, always positive. He’s probably the most positive I’ve been around in a long time. Always a smile on his face.
“I loved to be around him. The day went by easier.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the news left the hockey community stunned.
“Though it occurred thousands of miles away from our home arenas, this tragedy represents a catastrophic loss to the hockey world - including the NHL family, which lost so many fathers, sons, teammates and friends who at one time excelled in our league,” said Bettman.
IIHF president Rene Fasel said the size of the loss was difficult for everybody involved in hockey.
“Despite the substantial air travel of professional hockey teams, our sport has been spared from tragic traffic accidents,” Fasel said. “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.”