Pavol Demitra

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.

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

Other websites

• Pavol Demitra career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Pavol Demitra biography at Legends of Hockey (archived)
• Pavol Demitra player profile at NHL.com

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