The 2011–12

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Hockey Club Lokomotiv (russian: ХК Локомотив, en, Locomotive HC), also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a Russian professional ice hockey team, based in the city of Yaroslavl, playing in the top level Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

was the franchise's 52nd season of play in professional ice hockey in Russia. It was supposed to be its fourth season in the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL). The season was scheduled to start on 8 September 2011. However, on 7 September, while traveling to their season opener, the team's plane

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

, killing 44 people, including 25 roster players, and 11 members of the team staff.

Alexander Galimov Alexander Saidgereyevich Galimov (russian: Александр Саидгереевич Галимов; 2 May 1985 – 12 September 2011) was a Russian professional ice hockey player. At the time of his death, he was a member of Lokomotiv Yar ...

survived the initial impact of the crash with severe injuries, but died on 12 September. Another roster player,

Maxim Zyuzyakin Maksim Valerevich Zyuzyakin (Russian: Максим Валерьевич Зюзякин) (born 13 January 1991) is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is currently under contract to HC Khimik Voskresensk in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL ...

, did not travel with the team on the plane. As a consequence, the league cancelled the 7 September

Opening Cup The Opening Cup (russian: Кубок Открытия, Kubok Otkrytiya), is the trophy awarded to the winner of the first game of every regular season of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This match is played between the previous season's playo ...

game between Salavat Yulaev and

Atlant Atlant may refer to: * Atlant (book), the first Slovene-language atlas * Atlant-Soyuz Airlines, a Russian airline * Atlant Moscow Oblast, a Russian professional ice hockey team * The Myasishchev VM-T ''Atlant'', a Russian heavy transport aircraft ...

already in progress, postponing the opening of the KHL season until 12 September. The tragedy forced Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to cancel their participation in the

2011–12 KHL season The 2011–12 KHL season was the fourth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The regular season began with the Opening Cup game on 7 September 2011, but because of the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, which occurred during the first perio ...

. Instead, the club participated in the 2011–12 season of the

Russian Major League The Supreme Hockey League (SHL) (russian: Высшая хоккейная лига (ВХЛ), links=no, ''Vysshaya hokkeinaya liga (VHL)''), also known as the Major Hockey League or Higher Hockey League (HHL), is a professional ice hockey league i ...

(VHL), the second top ice hockey league in Russia after the KHL, starting in December 2011, and was eligible for the VHL playoffs. Also, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl's squad for the

2012–13 KHL season The 2012–13 KHL season was the fifth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The regular season began on 4 September with the Lokomotiv Cup between last year's finalists Dynamo Moscow and Avangard Omsk. For the first time, the league consisted ...

would automatically be qualified for the KHL playoffs that season, and the club could request allowance to use more than six non-

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

players in the KHL squad.

Off-season

Lokomotiv lost in the 2011 KHL Western Conference Finals 4–2 to

. Following this playoff disappointment, eleven players (most notably former NHLers Daniel Tjärnqvist and

Alexander Korolyuk Alexander Ivanovich Korolyuk (russian: Александр Иванович Королюк, born January 15, 1976) is a Russian former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks before ...

) left the team, and nine players were added to the roster for the upcoming

. The players set to make their debut with the team notably included former NHLers

Ruslan Salei Ruslan Albertovich Salei ( Belarusian: Руслан Альбертавіч Салей; Russian: Руслан Альбертович Салей; November 2, 1974 – September 7, 2011) was a Belarusian professional ice hockey player. Salei pla ...

and

Kārlis Skrastiņš Kārlis Skrastiņš (July 9, 1974 – September 7, 2011) was a Latvian professional ice hockey player. Skrastiņš was drafted by the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League in 1998 as a defenceman and spent twelve years in the leag ...

. Also set to make their coaching debuts were former NHLers

Brad McCrimmon Byron Brad McCrimmon (March 29, 1959 – September 7, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played over 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, ...

and

Igor Korolev Igor Borisovich Korolev (russian: Игорь Борисович Королёв; September 6, 1970 – September 7, 2011) was a Russian-Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Korolev played over 700 games in the National Hockey Leag ...

Pre-season

The team played nine pre-season games, finishing with a 7–2 record, and won their second straight Latvian Railways Cup ( 23–27 August), a pre-season KHL tournament. On 3 September, the players played their final game, at home against

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

, winning 5–2.

, the final victim of the crash, scored the last goal of that game, sealing the win for Lokomotiv with an empty net goal.

Crash

All players and most of the team staff were killed on 7 September 2011 when the Yak-Service

Yak-42 The Yakovlev Yak-42 (russian: Яковлев Як-42; NATO reporting name: "Clobber") is a 100/120-seat three-engined mid-range passenger jet developed in the mid 1970s to replace the technically obsolete Tupolev Tu-134. It was the first airli ...

that was chartered by the team crashed on takeoff from

Tunoshna Airport Yaroslavl (Tunoshna) International Airport (Tunoshna - also Tunoshnoye, or Tunoschna) (russian: Международный аэропорт Ярославль (Ту́ношна)) is an airport in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located 18 km sout ...

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence ...

, into the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

. Alexander Galimov survived the crash, but died five days later of his injuries. Goalie coach Jorma Valtonen and forward

were not on the flight.

Rebuilding the team

It was announced by KHL president

Alexander Medvedev Alexander Ivanovich Medvedev (russian: Александр Иванович Медведев, ) (born 14 August 1955 in Shakhtyorsk, Sakhalin Oblast) is the current Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of Russian energy company Gazprom ...

that a

disaster draft A disaster draft or contingency draft is a disaster recovery plan developed by professional sports leagues to rebuild a team's roster if many players are disabled or killed. Background Since the advent of modern mass transportation, there have b ...

would be conducted to assemble a new team for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Every other team in the league would select up to three players for the pool of 40–45 players for Lokomotiv to select in the disaster draft, which selected up to 14 players, as five players were promoted from Lokomotiv's youth team, and forward

, who did not travel with the team, formed the core of the roster before the start of the disaster draft. The drafted players will continue to receive salaries from their respective teams. Lokomotiv's former coach

Petr Vorobiev Pyotr Ilyich Vorobyov (russian: Пётр Ильич Воробьёв; lv, Pjotrs Vorobjovs; born 28 January 1949) is a Russian professional ice hockey coach and former player. Vorobyov is the head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental ...

was hired as the new head coach. On 10 September, at the team's public memorial service, team president Yuri Yakovlev announced that Lokomotiv would not participate in the

. Instead, the club participated in the 2011–12 season of the

(VHL), the second top ice hockey league in Russia after the KHL. In October 2011, the team announced that its first game in the VHL would take place on 12 December 2011 at home ice. Players between 17 and 22 years old under contract to KHL and VHL teams were made available for Lokomotiv to build a roster.

Schedule and results

Regular season

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Neftyanik Almetyevsk Neftyanik Almetyevsk is an ice hockey team in Almetyevsk, Russia. They play in the VHL, the Supreme Hockey League, which is the second level of Russian ice hockey. History The club was founded in 1965 as Sputnik. In 1986, they were renamed Neft ...

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Molot-Prikamye Perm Molot-Prikamye Perm (russian: Молот-Прикамье Пермь) is a professional ice hockey team based in Perm, Perm Krai, Russia. They are playing in the Supreme Hockey League The Supreme Hockey League (SHL) (russian: Высшая хо ...

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Izhstal Izhevsk Izhstal Izhevsk (russian: Ижсталь Ижевск) is a professional ice hockey team based in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia. They are currently playing in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL), the second highest professional league in Russia. History ...

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HC Donbass Hockey Club Donbass ( uk, Хокейний Клуб Донбас; russian: link=no, Хоккейный Клуб Донбасс, '' tr. Hokeinyi Klub Donbas'') is a Ukrainian professional ice hockey team based in Druzhkivka, currently playing in th ...

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Titan Klin Titan Klin is an ice hockey team in Klin, Russia. They play in the VHL, the second level of Russian ice hockey. The club was established in 1991 as a successor of a minor amateur team Khimik Klin that existed since 1953. Titan played in the Fi ...

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Rubin Tyumen Rubin Tyumen is an ice hockey team in Tyumen, Russia. They play in the VHL, the second level of Russian ice hockey. History The club's direct predecessor was a team called Vodnik Tyumen. It participated in lower levels of the Soviet hockey champi ...

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Zauralie Kurgan Zauralie Kurgan (Хоккейный клуб «Зауралье» Курган) is an ice hockey team in Kurgan, Kurgan Oblast, Russia. They play in the VHL, the second level of Russian ice hockey. History The club was founded in 1994 as a merg ...

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Mechel Chelyabinsk Chelmet Chelyabinsk is a professional ice hockey team in the VHL. Based in Chelyabinsk, Russia, and affiliated with the Kontinental Hockey League`s Traktor Chelyabinsk, Chelmet plays its home games at Yunost Sports Palace. History The team was ...

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Yuzhny Ural Orsk Yuzhny Ural Orsk is an ice hockey team in Orsk, Russia. They play in the VHL, the second level of ice hockey in Russia. History The original club (then Yuzhuralmash) was founded in 1958. It ceased to exist by the end of the 1990s but was revived ...

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Kristall Saratov Kristall Saratov is an ice hockey team in Saratov, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internation ...

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Dizel Penza Dizel Penza is an ice hockey team in Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a ...

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HC Ryazan HC Ryazan is an ice hockey team in Ryazan, Russia. They play in the VHL, the second level of ice hockey in Russia. The club is affiliated with a KHL team Sibir Novosibirsk since 2012. History The team was founded in 1997 as Vyatich Ryazan. It i ...

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Dynamo Tver Dynamo Balashikha was an ice hockey team in Balashikha, Russia. They played in the VHL, the second level of Russian ice hockey. The club was founded in 2010 as an affiliate of Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hoc ...

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Kazzinc-Torpedo Torpedo Hockey Club ( kk, «Торпедо» хоккей клубы, ''«Torpedo» hokkeı klýby''; russian: Хоккейный клуб «Торпедо»), commonly referred to as Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk, formerly known as Kazzinc-Torpedo (1999 ...

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Ermak Angarsk Yermak Angarsk is an ice hockey team in Angarsk, Russia. They play in the VHL, the second level of Russian ice hockey. The club was formerly affiliated with Metallurg Novokuznetsk Metallurg Novokuznetsk (russian: Металлург Новоку� ...

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Sokol Krasnoyarsk Sokol Krasnoyarsk is an ice hockey team in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. They play in the Supreme Hockey League, VHL, the second level of Russian ice hockey. The club was founded in 1977. In 2012, Sokol signed Krasnoyarsk native NHL star Alexander Semin f ...

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HC VMF St. Petersburg HC SKA-Neva (russian: Хоккейный Клуб СКА-Нева) is a Russian professional ice hockey team playing in the VHL, the second level of Russian ice hockey. The club was founded as VMF St. Petersburg in 2008 in Saint Petersburg as a fa ...

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HC Sarov HC Sarov is an ice hockey team in Sarov, Russia. They play in the Supreme Hockey League The Supreme Hockey League (SHL) (russian: Высшая хоккейная лига (ВХЛ), links=no, ''Vysshaya hokkeinaya liga (VHL)''), also known as the ...

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Sputnik Nizhny Tagil Sputnik Nizhny Tagil is an ice hockey team in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. They play in the VHL, the second level of Russian ice hockey. The club was formerly affiliated with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg HC Avtomobilist (russian: Автомобилис ...

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Toros Neftekamsk Toros Neftekamsk is an ice hockey team in Neftekamsk, Russia. They play in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL), the second level of Russian ice hockey. The Russian word "toros" means "hummock, ice block". History The club was founded in 1988 (and prio ...

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Playoffs

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Team at the time of crash

Remembered 7 September 2011.

Staff

* Zyuzyakin and Valtonen were the only club members not aboard the plane.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Season 2011-12

Yaro Yaro is a town in the Bagassi Department of Balé Province in southern Burkina Faso, in west Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, B ...

2011–12 in Russian ice hockey Lokomotiv Yaroslavl seasons