Sad news for the human race let alone hockey fans:
Alex Ovechkin: Russian plane crash a ‘national tragedy’ By
Katie Carrera As details continue to emerge about the
Russian plane crash that killed 44 people including most members of the Kontinental Hockey League’s Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, members of the Capitals expressed their shock and sadness.
Of the 45 people on board, 35 passengers and eight crew members, only a crew member survived.
Alex Ovechkin was noticably shaken when he spoke with reporters after a short workout at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. He was friends with Alexander Galimov, who was the lone player to survive the inital crash but died in a hospital after suffering severe burns over most of his body.
“I played with him when I was a little kid and again on national team, junior,” said Ovechkin, who was a teammate of Galimov’s in the 2005 World Junior Championships. “It’s kind of a scary moment. A national tragedy.”
Ovechkin found out from a friend just as he took to the ice this morning and immediately looked to verify reports and tell his fellow countrymen the news.
“I go to the internet see its true or not. It’s scary. I don’t know what to say,” Ovechkin said.
Tomas Vokoun, a Czech native, was distraught after hearing the news of the plane crash because one of his close friends was aboard the aircraft and asked to not speak with reporters, according to a team spokesman. The veteran goaltender played parts of seven seasons in Nashville and Florida with former NHLer Karlis Skrastins, who was believed to be aboard the flight.
Capitals prospect Stanislav Galiev was also in shock as he expressed his disbelief and sadness about the crash.
“I’m shocked it’s very sad. I had a couple good friends there from World Junior team, I played with them,” said Galiev, who said he knew Sergei Ostapchuk, Yuri Urychev and Daniil Sobchenko well. “You know travel every day [as an athlete]. You don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, it’s just life.”