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Wednesday, 28 September 2011 12:01

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

While no one directly involved with the tragic plane crash which killed most members of the KHL's Lokomotiv Yaroslav team had a direct connection to the Penguins' franchise, several members of the Penguins had played with or even coached someone involved.

Recently, several of the Penguins talked about their connections with those victims and how they'll remember their former teammates.

James Neal – Played parts of two seasons with defenseman Karlis Skrastins (right, with Neal, No. 18) for the Stars

"He was just a great teammate. I played with him for a couple of years. Just a great team guy. Happy every day. Came to the rink and enjoyed his time so much. Had a great family. Great wife and kids. It’s a tough thing. It’s hard. He was just an awesome guy and an awesome teammate."

Arron Asham – Played one season with defenseman Karel Rachunek for the Devils

"It was… I couldn’t believe it. We had a bad enough time with the three deaths (of Wade Belak, Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien earlier in the summer). To add another… I don’t know how many people died in it. It was terrible. Karel was a good guy. He was a family guy. We lost a lot of people way too young."

Brent Johnson – Played parts of fives season with forward Pavol Demitra (right) for the Blues

"Awful. Pavol Demitra was a great guy. I played with him for a long time in St. Louis. We still stayed close for a while after. He went over to play in Russia to play the last couple seasons. He’ll be greatly missed. He was just a fantastic guy. Its one of the scariest things."

Craig Adams – Played fives seasons with forward Josef Vasicek for the Hurricanes

"I knew Joe really well. We were rookies together. We played together five or six years. Just one of the nicest guys I’ve ever played with. Just a great person and a good play. Obviously I was shocked when I heard he was on that plane. It doesn’t sink in right away. It’s pretty heartbreaking for sure."

Paul Martin –  Played one season with Rachunek for the Devils

"With Karel, I just had him for a year there (in New Jersey). Good guy. Real quiet. He just started his family. It’s sad to see in general but when you know someone it makes it a little more sad to see that happen."

Zbynek Michalek – Played with Vasicek, Rachunek and forward Jan Marek (right) on several Czech national teams

"I heard it on the way to Pittsburgh. When I landed in Toronto where I was changing planes, I got a text on my phone and I was in complete shock. I was hoping it wasn’t that bad. Hoping that someone would survive. I knew all those three guys very well. Playing on the national team very well. One of the guys was from my home town (Marek). A town of about 20,000 people so everybody knows everybody. I’m still in shocked about it. I know he just had a baby two months ago. Just tragic."

Matt Niskanen – Played parts of two seasons with Skrastins for the Stars

"It was just… awful, awful news. I was very close to him. He was my (defensive) partner for the most part for two years. He was… an amazing friend and awesome teammate. Just a great guy to be around. Terrible news for his family. His wife an kids. Terrible news. There’s no way around it. It sucks."

Steve Sullivan – Played three seasons with forward Igor Korolev (right) for the Blackhawks

"It was extremely devastating. It was a tough couple of weeks for myself losing two former teammates and two friends (including Belak). His family is still in Toronto. His two daughters and his wife, you feel for them. It’s tough. Everyone was touched by that incident."

Tony Granato – Coached Skrastins for four seasons for the Avalanche

"I had him for a couple of years in Denver. He was as good of a person as you could have to coach. Always in a good mood. Did whatever he was asked to do. Played as hard as anybody as I had ever coached. He was a warrior. He broke the record for most consecutive games played by a defenseman. And he did in a way which he played which was old school. He stood in front of more shots and blocked more shots than probably anybody I had ever coached. He never flinched. He never asked for a day off. He never complained about being sore. It’s going to sting for a long time. You can’t think of a bad thing to say about the guy."

"He was as nice of a teammate as you could have. Zero maintenance. Zero issues. Great practice habits. Great work effort. Took care of himself. He’d do anything for a teammate. He played 490-something straight games as a defenseman, basically as a goaltender because he stood in front of shots. Guys are teeing up a one timer and he wouldn’t flinch. I don’t know if you could play harder than he played."

Dan Bylsma – Played four seasons with Ruslan Salei (right) for the Mighty Ducks

I played with Ruslan for four years. He was a very good teammate and a very good friend. Sharp-witted. Sharp tounge. He’ll say anything to anybody. He said it with a head back and a wry smile. He was a great competitor. Great to have him on your side of the ice. Always regretted seeing him on the other team whether I was playing or coaching against him. I think of Ruslan often when I think of other people and see those characteristics.

(Photos: Skrastins and Neal-Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press; Demitra-Elsa/Getty Images; Marek-Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images; Korolev-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images; Salei-Glenn Cratty/Getty Images)

Comments (2)

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written by jbc24, September 28, 2011 - 01:05 PM

Hey, love the blog. I read it all the time, and I have even seen a pic of myself before during your jersey searches before games. I have a Matthew Barnaby jersey with the grey shoulders and you got me once and I didn't even know until i checked the blog out after the game. I just decided to sign in to leave comments because when I saw the headline of this post my stomach dropped. Please add a "k" to new. I was really worried the Pens were involved in a terribly tragedy like Lokomotiv Yarolslavl.

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written by s_rorabaugh, September 28, 2011 - 01:14 PM

jbc24, +1 for the heads up. What a stupid mistake. My apologies.

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