KHL's Lokomotiv lost to plane crash

Simply tragic. I hope Lokomotiv is able to rebound, like Manchester United’s airplane disaster in 1958.

A whole team. I cannot even comprehend it.

Unfortunately, their has been way too many this year. More than I can remember, since I started my love for the game.

Thoughts go out to all the family and friends of those involved.

The Red Wings already have one confirmed family member invloved in former assistant coach Brad McCrimmon. Reports of a possible second in Ruslan “Rusty” Salei are still conflicting.. early reports were that he was not on the plane but waiting at the airport for them to arrive. Followed by random reprts that he in fact, was on the plane. Hopefully we find out this isn’t the case and he is safe. Salei just had a kid, few months ago.

It’s hard to type right now.

RIP

I have absolutely no connection to Lokomotiv. The players, the city, the league. And yet, there is this enormous sadness that has been following me around today. This horrible sense of loss..

The thing is, I was upset when Derek Boogaard was reported dead. I was more immune to losing Rypien and Belak… But this one, it trumps everything and wipes away any ho-hum, it-happens sentiment.

I also am a bit pissed at myself as I know tragedies like this have occurred before, and I’ve shrugged it off. Soccer teams, non top-level clubs…. Planes crash too often, and yet, I write it off. Why? Because of lack of connection maybe?

And yet, I have no connection here, and yet I am mortified. I mourn. I want to do something and I believe I can’t because of what country I am in, and where the tragedy happened.

Hug your loved ones extra long tonight, people. Say how much they mean to you. Share it with them. You can never do it enough. Because at any given moment, you may not be able to do it or say it or share it ever again.

My cousin sent me a text followed by a phone call. I look at the names of the players that died on that plane and my jaw just dropped. There were no ex-Lightning players or draft picks (I don’t think, but I still haven’t seen the full list yet, so excuse me if I’m wrong there…) And yes, I sat and cried just a bit too. Not ashamed to admit it. It kinda puts life into perspective a bit.

These are more than just names on a website. These were hockey players. Guys that I watched play in the thirty plus something years I’ve watched hockey. I remember watching Brad McCrimmon play with the Flyers and Flames… Salei, Krastins, Demitra… Add that to the earlier loss of Boogaard, Rypien and Belak… it’s been a really tough summer to be a hockey fan.

My sincere condolences to all of the families of the players we lost this summer. May God have mercy on their souls.

Players from 10 different countries lost their lives on that plane. A tragedy with far reaching International implications, not just in the poor family members who lost a loved one but to the fledgling International hockey programs of countries like Latvia, Belarus and The Ukraine who lost arguably their best players amongst others. My heart goes out to all those family members, fans and countrymen who lost a loved one on this tragic day.

Yahoo had posted the video for the service the team they were flying to play did.