Pavol Demitra

Slovak ice hockey center and Olympian

Pavol Demitra (November 29, 1974 – September 7, 2011) was a Slovak professional ice hockey centre who last played for the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He first played in the NHL in 1993, having previously played with the Ottawa Senators, who selected him in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild. Before he joined the NHL, Demitra played in Slovakia, as well as the American Hockey League (AHL) and International Hockey League (IHL), minor professional leagues in North America. In Demitra's NHL career spanning 16 years, he has achieved the 300-goal mark and won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship in 2000. On September 7, 2011, at 4:02 PM local time, Demitra died when a Yakovlev Yak-42 passenger aircraft, that was carrying the entire hockey team of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed near Yaroslavl, Russia. The plane was on its way to Minsk, Belarus, to start the 2011-12 KHL season.[1]

Pavol Demitra
Born (1974-11-29)November 29, 1974
Dubnica nad Váhom, Czechoslovakia
Died September 7, 2011(2011-09-07) (aged 36)
Tunoshna, Russia
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Played for KHL: Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
NHL:
Vancouver Canucks
Minnesota Wild
Los Angeles Kings
St. Louis Blues
Ottawa Senators
National team  Slovakia
NHL Draft 227th overall, 1993
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 1993–2011

References

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  1. "Hockey dealing with aftermath of KHL plane crash". NHL.com.

Other websites

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Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Wayne Gretzky
Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
2000
Succeeded by
Joe Sakic
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Mark Parrish
Minnesota Wild captains
October 2007
Succeeded by
Brian Rolston