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.