Kārlis Skrastiņš, Latvian,died from a plane crash he was 37.

Kārlis Skrastiņš was a Latvian professional ice hockey player. Skrastins was a member of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and was on board the team plane which crashed on September 7, 2011 died from a plane crash he was 37.Skrastins played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) before joining Lokomotiv in 2011.

(July 9, 1974 – September 7, 2011)

Playing career

Skrastiņš was drafted by Nashville Predators with the 230th pick in the ninth round of 1998 NHL Entry Draft.^[2] He played for Nashville for next five seasons until being traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 2003.^[3] On February 8, 2007, he played in his 487th consecutive game to pass Tim Horton for the longest playing streak in NHL history for a defenceman.^[4] Skrastiņš' streak ended at 495 games, when he missed a February 25, 2007 game against the Anaheim Ducks with a knee injury.^[5] He had previously missed only one other game due to injury in his career — against St. Louis on February 18, 2000, with a minor shoulder injury. The streak led to him being given the nickname "Ironman".^[6]
In his fourth season with the Avalanche in 2007–08, he was traded to the Florida Panthers for Ruslan Salei on February 26, 2008.^[7] In his first full season with the Panthers in 2008–09, Skrastiņš scored a career high 18 points in 80 games. On October 16, 2008, he played his 600th career NHL game against the Minnesota Wild^[8] and on November 1, 2008, he scored his 100th point in his NHL career in a 3–2 loss fittingly against his original club, the Nashville Predators.^[9]
On July 2, 2009, he was signed by the Dallas Stars to a two-year contract worth $2.75 million.^[10] He scored his only two goals of the 2009–10 season, including the game winner, on December 19 in a 4–3 Stars victory over the Detroit Red Wings.^[11]
On May 17, 2011, after eleven seasons in the NHL, Skrastiņš left to sign a contract with Russian team, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.^[12]

Death

On September 7, 2011, he was killed, when a Yakovlev Yak-42 passenger aircraft, carrying nearly his entire Lokomotiv team, crashed just outside Yaroslavl, Russia.^[13] The team was traveling to Minsk to play their opening game of the season, with its coaching staff and prospects. Lokomotiv officials said "'everyone from the main roster was on the plane plus four players from the youth team.'"

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991–92	Pardaugava Riga	LHL		16	7	6	13	10		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Pardaugava Riga	LHL		10	7	2	9	12		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Pardaugava Riga	RSL		40	3	5	8	16		2	0	0	0	0
1993–94	Pardaugava Riga	RSL		42	7	5	12	18		2	1	0	1	4
1994–95	Pardaugava Riga	RSL		52	4	14	18	69		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	TPS	SM-l		50	4	11	15	32		11	2	2	4	10
1996–97	TPS	SM-l		50	2	8	10	20		12	0	4	4	2
1997–98	TPS	SM-l		48	4	15	19	67		4	0	0	0	0
1998–99	Nashville Predators	NHL		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		75	8	36	44	47		2	0	1	1	2
1999–00	Nashville Predators	NHL		59	5	6	11	20		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		19	3	8	11	10		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Nashville Predators	NHL		82	1	11	12	30		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Nashville Predators	NHL		82	4	13	17	36		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Nashville Predators	NHL		82	3	10	13	44		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		82	5	8	13	26		11	0	2	2	2
2004–05	HK Riga 2000	BLR		34	8	17	25	30		3	0	0	0	25
2004–05	HK Riga 2000	LHL		4	0	4	4	0		9	3	10	13	33
2005–06	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		82	3	11	14	65		9	0	1	1	10
2006–07	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		68	0	11	11	30		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		43	1	3	4	20		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Florida Panthers	NHL		17	1	0	1	12		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Florida Panthers	NHL		80	4	14	18	30		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Dallas Stars	NHL		79	2	11	13	24		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Dallas Stars	NHL		74	3	5	8	38		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				832	32	104	136	375		20	0	3	3	12

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993	Latvia	WC-C		7	1	6	7	0
1993	Latvia	OQ		4	1	1	2	2
1994	Latvia	WJC-C		4	1	5	6	33
1994	Latvia	WC-B		7	3	5	8	0
1995	Latvia	WC-B		7	1	1	2	4
1997	Latvia	WC		8	0	3	3	4
1999	Latvia	WC		6	1	1	2	6
2000	Latvia	WC		7	1	2	3	4
2001	Latvia	WC		6	3	0	3	0
2002	Latvia	OG		1	0	0	0	0
2003	Latvia	WC		6	3	3	6	27
2005	Latvia	OQ		3	1	0	1	0
2005	Latvia	WC		6	2	0	2	2
2006	Latvia	OG		5	0	1	1	0
2009	Latvia	WC		7	1	1	2	0
2010	Latvia	OG		4	0	0	0	0
Junior Int'l totals				4	1	5	6	33
Senior Int'l totals				84	18	24	42	49

To see more of who died in 2011 click here