The sad anniversary of the tragedy: Ten years have passed since the death of Pavel Demitra († 36) – Športky.sk

BRATISLAVA – September 7, 2011 marked one of the greatest tragedies in the history of sports. An airplane crashed near the Russian city of Yaroslavl, and the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team from the KHL was on board. The team traveled to Minsk, Belarus, for their opening match of the season. The Slovak hockey player Pavol Demitra also perished, and even ten years after the tragedy, the memories of this misfortune are still alive.

The Moscow Witch Airlines machine How the Service crashed immediately after takeoff from the local Tunošna Airport. Of the eight-member crew and 37 passengers, only two survived the accident. Once upon a time, Russian striker Alexander Galimov suffered burns on 80 percent of his body surface, but died five days later on September 12 as a result. Only flight engineer Alexander Sizov survived.

The only living actor in the tragedy denied that the plane had technical problems during the fateful flight. Tests of the Jak-42 aircraft confirmed that the accident was caused by a pilot error. Experts completed a series of aerial tests on October 18, 2011, which fully confirmed that one of the pilots braked during takeoff at the airport.

44 people were killed in the rubble

Traces were found on the runway of the airport, according to which the machine stopped braking only at the last moment. The Jak-42 aircraft detached from the ground up to 400 meters from the end of the runway. After the crash into the beacon, it immediately collapsed and 44 people died in its ruins. Three Czech hockey players, Josef Vašíček, Jan Marek and Karel Rachůnek, also died in the plane crash.

KHL President Alexander Medvedev informed fans about the tragedy during the first third of the Ufa-Mytishchi match directly on the ice. The spectators in the hall cried and interrupted the match during the first period. It was finished later. “After a quick discussion of the situation with both teams, we decided to end the match. Everyone has a close friend in Yaroslavl’s team, a friend. No one can imagine how this match could continue and how we could enjoy the victory.” said the head of the league and then declared a minute of silence dead.

Unforgettable 38

Demitra has had many hockey successes during his rich career, but fans and the hockey public also remember him for moments of sadness and emotion. Most probably when he finally said goodbye to the national team jersey on May 9, 2011 after the match in Bratislava at the World Cup against Denmark. Four months later, Slovakia and a piece of the hockey world cried behind him. An exemplary athlete and the father of two small children died in a plane crash.

Pavol Demitra was born on November 29, 1974 in Dubnice nad Váhom. In the local club, he grew up to be a complex hockey player. He started his professional career in Dukla Trenčín in the 1992/93 season, which was the last year of the highest Czech-Slovak competition. He left for the NHL right after her, when he was drafted by Ottawa in the ninth round of the 227th position in 1993. The journey in the profile did not start very promising for him, in the first three seasons he played only about a fifth of the matches for the Senators.

After the exchange to St. However, Louis developed into a team leader and worked for the Blues jersey until 2004. In the club, together with his compatriots Michal Handzuš and Ľuboš Barteček, they created the so-called Slovak line. He then replaced the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks. In the NHL, he played a total of 848 games in the basic part with a balance of 768 points (304 goals + 464 assists), in the playoffs he collected 59 points (23 + 36) in 94 duels. In 2000, he received the prestigious Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemen’s and sporting approach.

The moment that proves his big heart is also attached to the award. In the final match of the 1998/99 season, a few seconds before the end, in an opponent’s game without a goalkeeper, he rushed with Scott Young to an empty Los Angeles goal. A goal would secure him the 90th point and the team a $ 500,000 bonus. Demitra, however, passed to Young, to whom his 25th accurate hit would bring in $ 300,000. However, Young’s shot was blocked by defender Jaroslav Modrý, so no one was happy with the bonus.

In 2010, he decided to accept the offer of the Russian club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He shone in the KHL, in the basic part he had 61 points in 54 matches (18 + 43), in 18 dueling knobs he scored 6 goals, in 15 he assisted and a record scoring series of the third most productive man in the playoffs brought the team to the semifinals of the competition. After this season, he also considered the end of his sports career due to his family, but he also signed a contract for the next year 2011/2012, in which, however, he did not play due to a tragic event.

Exemplary representative

Demitra was also an exemplary representative and in 1999 he became the absolute winner of the Golden Puck poll for the best Slovak hockey player. He represented Slovakia at the World Championships in 1996, 2003 (bronze), 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2011. He also performed at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin and at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. He also defended the Slovak colors at the World Cup in 1996 and 2004.

At the 2003 Bronze World Championships in Helsinki, his mischievous goal in the battle for 3rd place, which he gave to the Czech goalkeeper Tomáš Vokoun, stuck in the memories of the fans. Unforgettable is his independent entry into the network of Ilya Bryzgal in a duel with Russia at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, where he became the most productive player and also a member of the All-Stars team of the tournament.

On April 20, 2012, the management of the Slovak Ice Hockey Association presented the former long-time representative and captain of the 2011 World Championships in Bratislava to the Hall of Fame in memoriam before the duel of the national team with the Czech Republic. Before the opening bull, a short ceremony took place at the Ondrej Nepel Stadium, during which Demitr’s wife Majka took over the ceremonial jersey and certificate. She also received a bouquet made of 38 red roses from SZĽH President Igor Nemeček and General Manager Otto Sýkora.

A touching farewell to the legendary attacker was underlined by a short cut of his most famous moments on a light cube. In his honor, they named a primary school in Dubnice nad Váhom and a hockey stadium in Trenčín. A documentary 38 – Film Tribute to a Hockey Legend – was also made about Demiter, the number 38 player on the jersey.

Demiter’s heart was Dukla from Trenčín and after the end of his career he wanted to devote himself to youth in this club. In Trenčín, fans regularly remember this successful hockey player with a traditional ritual. In each Dukly match, the stadium chanted its name in the 38th minute.

• The author: © List
• Source: TASR