Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
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| Full name |
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2000–present
|
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Loko", "Railwaymen" |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Based In | Yaroslavl, Russia |
| Arena | Arena 2000 (Capacity: 10,000) |
| League |
KHL 2008 –present
|
| Division | Tarasov |
| Conference | Western |
| Uniform |  |
| Team Colors | |
| Owner(s) |  Russian Railways |
| President | Yuri Yakovlev |
| GM | Yuri Lukin |
| Head Coach |  Tom Rowe |
| Captain |  Alexei Kalyuzhny |
| Affiliates | Loko (MHL) |
| Website | hclokomotiv.ru |
Hockey Club Lokomotiv (Russian: ХК Локомотив, English: Locomotive HC), also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Yaroslavl. The name of the team is derived from its owner, Russian Railways, the national railroad operator.
On September 7, 2011, a plane carrying the team to a Kontinental Hockey League game in Minsk crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all of the team's roster (plus four players from the Loko MHL junior squad) and coaching staff except for two who were not on the flight, forward Maxim Zyuzyakin and goaltending coach Jorma Valtonen.[1] The tragedy forced Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to cancel their participation in the 2011–12 KHL season.[2] The club instead joined the VHL, the second top ice hockey league in Russia after the KHL, in December 2011 for the remainder of the season and was automatically qualified for the VHL playoffs.[3] Also, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl may request allowance to use more than six non-Russian players in the KHL squad.[4]
Contents |
History [edit]
The team has been known previously by several different names:
- YaMZ Yaroslavl (1959–1963)
- Trud Yaroslavl (1963–1964)
- Motor Yaroslavl (1964–1965)
- Torpedo Yaroslavl (1965–2000)
- Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (2000–present)
The team generally played in the Second League of the Class "A" group during the Soviet era, being promoted to the First League of Class "A" for the 1983–84 season. Known as Torpedo Yaroslavl at that time, the team enjoyed moderate success under head coach Sergei Alekseyevich Nikolaev. Never a powerful club during the Soviet era, the team became a consistent winner during the 1990s and won their first league championship in 1997 under coach Petr Vorobiev. The club moved from Avtodizel Arena to the new Arena 2000 early in the 2001–02 season, and won consecutive league championships in 2002 and 2003 under Czech head coach Vladimír Vujtek, Sr. Vujtek left the club after the 2002–03 season for a lucrative contract offer from rival Ak Bars Kazan. Lokomotiv have not been able to replicate their success since that time, but remain a perennial contender in the Russian Superleague (RSL).
2011 plane crash [edit]
On September 7, 2011, the Lokomotiv club was to travel to Minsk for their first game of the 2011–12 KHL season when the airplane they were in caught fire and crashed shortly after take-off, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Tunoshna Airport.[5] Preliminary reports said that all 45 passengers and crew on board had been killed.[6] However later reports stated one player from Lokomotiv, plus a flight engineer, Alexander Sizov had survived the initial crash. Alexander Galimov, a 26-year-old forward who had been with the team since 2004, was conscious and had burns to 90 percent of his body, but died five days later in a hospital in Moscow. 35 bodies have been recovered thus far.[7][dated info]
Prior to the crash, the team played nine pre-season games, finishing with a 7–2 record. On September 3, the players played their last game, at home against Torpedo, winning 5–2. Alexander Galimov, who had initially survived the crash but later died of his injuries, scored the last goal of that game, sealing the win for Lokomotiv with an empty net goal.
In the aftermaths of the crash, KHL president Alexander Medvedev announced that a disaster draft will be held to allow Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to ice a team for the 2011-2012 season.[8] However, on September 10, 2011, the team announced its intention not to participate in the 2011-2012 KHL season, opting to play in the Russian Major League for one season before returning to the KHL.[9] Former coach Petr Vorobiev has returned to the team as its head coach.[citation needed]
This is the second plane accident in Russia involving a hockey team; in 1950, the entire VVS Moscow team were killed in an air disaster near Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg).[10]
2012–13 season [edit]
On April 9, Tom Rowe, formerly an assistant coach with the Carolina Hurricanes, signed on as the team's new Head Coach.
Lokomotiv are currently filling their roster, with former National Hockey League players Viktor Kozlov, Niklas Hagman, Staffan Kronwall, Curtis Sanford, Sami Lepistö and Vitaly Vishnevskiy signed on to play in the 2012–13 KHL season. Vishnevskiy previously played for the club from 2008 to 2010. Current Florida Panthers player Dmitri Kulikov has also signed on to play with Lokomotiv during the NHL lockout.
Honors [edit]
Champions [edit]
Russian Superleague (3): 1997, 2002, 2003
Runners-up [edit]
Gagarin Cup (1): 2009
Russian Superleague (1): 2008
Russian Superleague (3): 1998, 1999, 2005
IIHF Continental Cup (1): 2003
Spengler Cup (1): 2003
Season-by-season record [edit]
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | Top Scorer | Playoffs |
| 2008–09 | 56 | 32 | 13 | 3 | 111 | 174 | 111 | 1st, Kharlamov | Alexei Yashin (47 points: 21 G, 26 A; 56 GP) | Lost in Finals, 4-3 (Ak Bars Kazan) |
| 2009–10 | 56 | 26 | 17 | 4 | 96 | 163 | 132 | 3rd, Tarasov | Josef Vašíček (48 points: 21 G, 27 A; 56 GP) | Lost in Conference Finals, 4–3 (HC MVD) |
| 2010–11 | 54 | 33 | 14 | 1 | 108 | 202 | 143 | 1st, Tarasov | Pavol Demitra (60 points: 18 G, 42 A; 54 GP) | Lost in Conference Finals, 2–4 (Atlant Moscow Oblast) |
| 2011–12 | 22 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 42 | 68 | 47 | 3rd, Western | Oleg Yashin (15 points: 9 G, 6 A; 22 GP) | Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2-3 (Dizel Penza) |
| 2012–13 | 52 | 24 | 18 | 0 | 92 | 131 | 121 | 2nd, Tarasov | Sergei Plotnikov (33 points: 15 G, 18 A; 55 GP) | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Severstal Cherepovets) |
Players [edit]
Current roster [edit]
Updated January 10, 2013.[11][12]
References [edit]
- ^ "Canadian coach McCrimmon among 43 dead in Russian plane crash". tsn.ca. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
- ^ Grigory Sysoey (2011-09-10). "Russia's Lokomotiv ice hockey team to miss season after air disaster". RIA Novosti. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^ "На совещании в Кремле решили: "Локомотив" с декабря начнёт играть в ВХЛ" (in Russian). Sovetsky Sport. 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^ "KHL’s new Lokomotiv won’t play this season". Red Light. 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- ^ Barry, Ellen (2011-09-07). "Crash Wipes Out Elite Russian Hockey Team, Killing Several Veterans of the N.H.L."]". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
- ^ "Top KHL squad killed in passenger plane crash in Russia". RT.com. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
- ^ Morgunov, Sergei (2011-09-07). "Первые фото с места крушения Як-42 под Ярославлем". Lifenews.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2011-09-07.
- ^ Leonard, Peter (2011-09-08). "KHL delays games, but season will go on for Lokomotiv". nationalpost.com. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
- ^ "Lokomotiv will not play this season". FOX Sports. 2011-09-10. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
- ^ "Plane Crash Wipes Out Elite Russian Hockey Team". TotalNews. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
- ^ "Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team" (in Russian). hclokomotiv.ru. Retrieved 2013-01-10.
- ^ "Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team roster". www.khl.ru. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
External links [edit]
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