The Loss Of Thirty-Seven

Today marks one of hockey's worst days in terms of tragedies. Three years ago today, the airplane carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team crashed after take-off, killing thirty-seven players and coaches of the Russian team. The tragedy affected many, most notably in the hockey community, and the country of Russia mourned the loss of a team that had a rich history.

Here is the list of those lost in the tragedy from an NHL.com article. Note the ages of these players. A lot of good, young players were lost in this tragedy. The staff of Lokomotiv, along with the flight crew, are also listed below.

Vitaly Anikeyenko, 24: Save for a 10-game stint with Metallurg Novokuznezk, Anikeyenko played his entire six-year pro career with Lokomotiv. A third-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2005 NHL Draft, the defenseman won silver for Russia at the 2007 World Junior Championships.

Mikhail Balandin, 31: A Russian League veteran, the defenseman played with six different clubs and won silver with Russia at the 2000 World Junior Championships. After coming up through Yaroslavl's farm system, Balandin made his pro debut in the 1999-2000 season.

Gennady Churilov, 24: A Russian hockey prospect, the center played one season alongside Alexander Radulov with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. After a year in Quebec, Churilov returned to Yaroslavl, where he played six seasons and won two silver medals at the World Junior Championships.

Pavol Demitra, 36: A veteran of 16 NHL seasons, Demitra was revered in his native Slovakia, where he led the national team to a fourth-place finish at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. In his only full season with Yaroslavl, Demitra led the team in scoring and established himself as a locker-room leader.

Robert Dietrich, 25: The Nashville Predators' sixth-round pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, the defenseman spent two seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League before returning to his native Germany in 2010 to play for Adler Mannheim. He was a fixture on the German national team, leading it to a fourth-place finish at the 2010 World Championship.

Alexander Galimov, 26: The wing died five days after the crash from the injuries he sustained. A member of Russia's silver-medal team at the 2005 World Junior Championships, Galimov spent his entire seven-year pro career with Lokomotiv.

Marat Kalimulin, 23: A defenseman who spent his first four pro seasons in the Russian league playing for his hometown team in Tolyatti, Kalimulin joined Yaroslavl in 2010, establishing a new career high with 10 assists in his first season.

Alexander Kalyanin, 23: After coming up through the Russian leagues, the forward spent three seasons with Lokomotiv, enjoying a breakout season in 2010-11, registering 34 points and finishing seventh on the team in scoring.

Andrei Kiryukhin, 24: A graduate of Lokomotiv's hockey academies, the wing's father was a soccer player and coach in Russia. A native of Yaroslavl, Liryukhin won silver for Russia at the 2007 World Junior Championships.

Nikita Klyukin, 21: An alternate captain on the Russian team that won bronze at the 2009 World Junior Championships, the center was another product of Lokomotiv's farm system. Known for his playmaking abilities, Klyukin finished second at the 2009 World Junior Championships with eight assists.

Stefan Liv, 30: The only Swede on Yaroslavl's roster, the goaltender was a fixture for the HV71 Jonkoping club of the Swedish Elite League. A veteran of 10 seasons with HV71, Liv was chosen by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round of the 2000 NHL Draft and was a member of Sweden's gold-medal squad at the 2006 Olympics and 2006 World Championship.

Jan Marek, 31: An eighth-round pick by the New York Rangers in 2003, Marek was a veteran of the Czech league before coming to Russia in 2006 to play for Magnitogorsk Metallurg. The forward played five seasons in Russia and tied for second in goals on the Czech team that won the 2010 World Championship.

Sergei Ostapchuk, 21: After coming up in Yaroslavl's development academies, the wing came to Canada in 2008 to play for Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL. Playing alongside Bruno Gervais, Ostapchuk led the team in scoring in his first season. After two seasons in Quebec, Ostapchuk returned to Yaroslavl in 2009.

Karel Rachunek, 32: Lokomotiv's captain, Rachunek was the Ottawa Senators' ninth-round pick in 1997. The defenseman enjoyed three separate stints with Lokomotiv in a career that included time with the Senators, New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. Rachunek was a member of the Czech team that won the 2010 World Championship.

Ruslan Salei, 36: A key part of the 2002-03 Anaheim Ducks team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final, Salei was the ninth pick in the 1996 NHL Draft. The defenseman was developed by the club in his hometown of Minsk before arriving in Anaheim in 1996. Salei joined Yaroslavl in 2011 after completing a 15-year NHL career.

Maxim Shuvalov, 18: The youngest victim, the defenseman was developed by the Yaroslavl club and won bronze for Russia at the World Under-18 Championships four months before the crash.

Karlis Skrastins, 37: The second-oldest player on the Lokomotiv roster, the defenseman started his pro career in his native Latvia before moving to Finland to play for TPS Turku. A ninth-round pick by the Nashville Predators in the 1998 NHL Draft, Skrastins played 12 seasons in the NHL before joining Yaroslavl.

Pavel Snurnitsyn, 19: Another product of Lokomotiv's development system, the forward finished fourth in scoring on the team's top farm team in 2010-11. Weeks before the crash, Snurnitsyn was selected to play for Russia's national junior team.

Daniil Sobchenko, 20: A sixth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2011 NHL Draft, Sobchenko was a prized product of Lokomotiv's farm system and finished fourth in scoring on the Russian team that won the 2011 World Junior Championships. After parts of two seasons playing for Yaroslavl's main club, the center was poised to break out in the upcoming KHL season.

Ivan Tkachenko, 31: Born and raised in Yaroslavl, the wing was a fixture with Lokomotiv for more than a decade. The Columbus Blue Jackets' fourth-round pick in 2002, Tkachenko first appeared for one of Lokomotiv's junior teams in 1996, climbing the ranks to become the KHL club's captain during the 2009-10 season.

Pavel Trakhanov, 33: A Moscow native, the defenseman spent a decade playing for the legendary CSKA Moscow club. He eventually moved on to Severstal Cherepovets before playing in back-to-back KHL finals. In his final two KHL seasons, the veteran was a runner-up with HC MVD in 2010 and with Atlant Mytishchi in 2011.

Yuri Urychev, 20: A blueliner considered one of Lokomotiv's prized prospects, Urychev played alongside Daniil Sobchenko on the Russian team that won gold at the 2011 World Junior Championships. A local product, Urychev got his first real taste of prolonged KHL action in 2010-11.

Josef Vasicek, 30: A Stanley Cup winner in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Czech was chosen in the fourth-round of the 1998 NHL Draft after starring with the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League. After seven NHL seasons, Vasicek joined Lokomotiv in 2008 and was the team's leading scorer in the 2009-10 season.

Alexander Vasyunov, 23: A second-round selection by the New Jersey Devils in the 2006 NHL Draft, the wing was born and raised in Yaroslavl before being groomed by the Lokomotiv farm system. After playing parts of four seasons in Yaroslavl, Vasyunov played three seasons for the Devils' AHL team, with an 11-game stint in New Jersey, before returning to the KHL.

Alexander Vyukhin, 38: The oldest player on the team, the veteran goaltender played 19 seasons in Russia, his last two with Metallurg Novokuznetsk. A prominent player in the 1990s on the Ukrainian national team, Vyukhin spent almost a decade starring for Avangard Omsk.

Artem Yarchuk, 21: Another local product groomed by Lokomotiv, the forward worked his way up the club's farm system before enjoying his first 17 games for the KHL club in the 2010-11 season. The forward also was a member of the Russian Under-18 team that won silver at the 2008 World Championships.

Coaching Staff

Alexander Karpovtsev, 41: The team's assistant coach played six seasons with Dynamo Moscow before joining the New York Rangers in 1994, becoming one of the first Russian players to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. A 1990 selection of the Quebec Nordiques, Karpovtsev played 12 NHL seasons before joining Lokomotiv's coaching staff in 2011.

Igor Korolev, 41: The Lokomotiv assistant coach won consecutive Soviet championships as a player with Dynamo Moscow and was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 1992. He joined the club that year and played 12 NHL seasons before returning to Russia and playing his last pro season with Lokomotiv in 2009-10.

Brad McCrimmon, 52: A Stanley Cup champion with the Calgary Flames in 1989, Lokomotiv's coach played 18 NHL seasons before joining the New York Islanders' staff in 1997. Following two seasons as coach of the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades, McCrimmon served as an assistant for Calgary, the Atlanta Thrashers and Detroit Red Wings before coming to Yaroslavl.

Team Staff

Yuri Bakhvalov, Team Physician.
Aleksandr Belyaev, Equipment Manager.
Nikolai Krivonosov, Fitness Coach.
Yevgeni Kunnov, Massage Therapist.
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov, Massage Therapist.
Vladimir Piskunov, Russia Administrator.
Yevgeni Sidorov, Russia Coach/Analyst.
Andrei Zimin, Team Doctor.

Flight Crew

Nadezhda Maksumova, Flight attendant.
Vladimir Matyushin, Flight engineer.
Elena Sarmatova, Flight attendant.
Elena Shavina, Flight attendant.
Andrei Solomentsev, Captain.
Igor Zhivelov, First Officer.
Sergei Zhuravlev, First Officer.

Certainly, not the best of anniversaries, but one that should be remembered in memory of the good people who perished. Rest in peace to all those listed above. You are not forgotten.

Until next time, raise your sticks in honour of these fallen heroes!