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Kārlis Skrastiņš

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Kārlis Skrastiņš
Skrastiņš in 2006
Born (1974-07-09)July 9, 1974
Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Died September 7, 2011(2011-09-07) (aged 37)
Yaroslavl, Russia
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Pārdaugava Rīga
TPS
Nashville Predators
Colorado Avalanche
Florida Panthers
HK Rīga 2000
Dallas Stars
National team  Latvia
NHL draft 230th overall, 1998
Nashville Predators
Playing career 1991–2011

Kārlis Skrastiņš (July 9, 1974 – September 7, 2011) was a Latvian professional ice hockey player. Skrastiņš was drafted by the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League in 1998 as a defenceman and spent twelve years in the league playing for the Predators, the Colorado Avalanche, the Florida Panthers, and the Dallas Stars.

For the 2011-2012 season, Skrastiņš left the NHL and signed a contract to play in Russia for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). However, he never got to play a game for Lokomotiv as he was killed in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash that killed almost the entire team on September 7, 2011.[1]

Playing career

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Skrastiņš was drafted by Nashville Predators with the 230th pick in the ninth round of 1998 NHL Entry Draft.[2] On October 15, 2002, against the New York Islanders, he scored a 5-on-3 shorthanded goal. He played for Nashville for 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 (who also died in the Lokomotiv plane crash) 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

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Main article: 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash

Skrastins died on September 7, 2011, when a Yakovlev Yak-42 passenger aircraft, carrying nearly the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 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.'"[14][15][16][17]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1991–92 Stars Rīga LAT 16 7 6 13 10 — — — — —
1992–93 Pārdaugava Rīga LAT 10 7 2 9 12 — — — — —
1992–93 Pārdaugava Rīga RUS 40 3 5 8 16 2 0 0 0 0
1993–94 Pārdaugava Rīga RUS 42 7 5 12 18 2 1 0 1 4
1994–95 Pārdaugava Rīga RUS 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
1999–2000 Nashville Predators NHL 59 5 6 11 20 — — — — —
1999–2000 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 Rīga 2000 BLR 34 8 17 25 30 3 0 0 0 25
2004–05 HK Rīga 2000 LAT 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 — — — — —
RUS totals 134 14 24 38 103 4 1 0 1 4
SM-l totals 148 10 34 44 119 27 2 6 8 12
NHL totals 832 32 104 136 375 20 0 3 3 12

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1993 Latvia WC C 21st 7 1 6 7 0
1993 Latvia OGQ DNQ 4 1 1 2 2
1994 Latvia WJC C 18th 4 1 5 6 33
1994 Latvia WC B 14th 7 3 5 8 0
1995 Latvia WC B 14th 7 1 1 2 4
1996 Latvia WC B 13th 7 2 2 4 8
1997 Latvia WC 7th 8 0 3 3 4
1998 Latvia WC 9th 6 0 1 1 6
1999 Latvia WC 11th 6 1 1 2 6
2000 Latvia WC 8th 7 1 2 3 4
2001 Latvia WC 13th 6 3 0 3 0
2002 Latvia OG 9th 1 0 0 0 0
2003 Latvia WC 9th 6 3 3 6 27
2005 Latvia OGQ Q 3 1 0 1 0
2005 Latvia WC 9th 6 2 0 2 2
2006 Latvia OG 12th 5 0 1 1 0
2009 Latvia WC 7th 7 1 1 2 0
2010 Latvia OG 12th 4 0 0 0 0
Junior totals 5 2 5 7 33
Senior totals 99 20 28 48 67

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Life.ru» — информационный портал". Life News (in Russian). Lifenews.ru. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  2. ^ "Karlis Skrastins #37 – D". TSN.ca. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  3. ^ "Karlis Skrastins". Legends of Hockey.net. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  4. ^ "Avalanche blue-liner Karlis Skrastins sets ironman mark". CBC.ca. February 8, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  5. ^ "Skrastins' consecutive game streak ends at 495". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 26, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  6. ^ "Karlis Skrastins, Ice Hockey". Vancouver 2010.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  7. ^ "Avalanche acquire Ruslan Salei". CBC. February 26, 2008. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
  8. ^ "Wild Thrash Panthers with 6 goals". NHL. October 16, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  9. ^ "Predators outlast Panthers". CBS Sports. November 1, 2008. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  10. ^ "Dallas Stars Sign Skrastins To 2-Year Deal". CBS 11 TV.com. Associated Press. July 2, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Stars snap Red Wings' four-game winning streak". USA Today. Associated Press. December 19, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  12. ^ "NHL defender in Yaroslavl". Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. May 17, 2011. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  13. ^ "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia confirms that Skrastins has died". Tvnet (in Latvian). Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  14. ^ "First pictures from the crash of Yak-42 near Yaroslavl". Lifenews.ru. September 7, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  15. ^ "The list of Lokomotiv players who died". Lifenews.ru. September 7, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  16. ^ "Pavol Demitra among 43 killed in Russian plane crash". Toronto: theglobeandmail.com. September 7, 2011. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  17. ^ Lynn Berry (September 7, 2011). "Russian jet crash kills 43, many top hockey stars". Forbes. Retrieved September 7, 2011.[dead link]
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