Vitaly Serhiiovych Anikeyenko (2 January 1987 – 7 September 2011) was a Ukrainian-Russian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player.

Life

Born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, Anikeyenko spent the entirety of his professional hockey career with

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) ...

of 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 ...

, save for a loan spell with

Metallurg Novokuznetsk Metallurg Novokuznetsk (russian: Металлург Новокузнецк) is a professional ice hockey team from Siberia based in Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. They are currently members of the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). History The ...

during 2007–08. He was a member of the Russian national team that competed in the

IIHF World Championship The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide Sport governing body, governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zürich, Zur ...

's under 18 and under 20 levels; winning a silver medal for the country in 2007. Anikeyenko was drafted 70th overall in the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30. Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...

by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

Death

On 7 September 2011, Anikeyenko was killed in a plane crash when a Yakovlev Yak-42 passenger aircraft, carrying nearly his entire

team, crashed at

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 ...

, just outside the city of Yaroslavl, Russia. The team was traveling to

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

to play their opening game of the season, with its coaching staff and prospects. Lokomotiv officials confirmed that the entire main roster was on the flight, including four players from the junior team. The bodies of Ukrainian teammates Anikeyenko and

Daniil Sobchenko Danylo Yevhenovych "Daniil" Sobchenko ( ua, Данило Євге́нович Собченко; 13 April 1991 – 7 September 2011) was a Ukrainian-Russian professional ice hockey player. Born in Kyiv, Sobchenko spent the entirety of his pr ...

were repatriated following the crash for burial in Ukraine. The funeral was held on 10 September at Sovskoe cemetery in Kyiv.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Vitaly Anikeyenko player profile
at RussianProspects.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Anikeyenko, Vitali 1987 births 2011 deaths Metallurg Novokuznetsk players Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players Ottawa Senators draft picks Russian ice hockey defencemen Russian people of Ukrainian descent Ice hockey people from Kyiv Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Ukrainian ice hockey defencemen Victims of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash