Letowski shocked at Russian plane crash

Trevor Letowski said his jaw dropped when he realized it was a plane carrying a team of Kontinental Hockey League players that crashed in Russia on Wednesday morning.

Letowski, who spent two seasons playing in the KHL with Astana Barys, before retiring after the 2009-10 season, said he saw a story about the crash on CNN, not knowing there were hockey players aboard. Now possessed of a natural curiosity about Russia, he investigated further online, where reality struck him.  

“It really hit home with us, both for me and my wife,” said Letowski, now an assistant coach with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sarnia Sting.

“She was there with me for two years. When you’re there first-hand, it’s just different, because you can really put yourself (in that position), especially me. I was at that airport many times.”

But the what-ifs aren’t really on the Letowski’s minds, he said.

“Our first thought is with the families. They’re good people over there and pro athletes. The guys are 20 years old to 35 years old. They all have young wives and young families, and that’s the hardest part to take.”

Forty-three of the 45 people on board, including most of the team itself, were killed on impact. Among the dead are former NHLers Pavol Demitra, Ruslan Salei, Karel Rachunek and Karlis Skrastins – and someone near and dear to Letowski’s heart, former teammate Josef Vasicek.

“He was a great guy. He had a good thing going over there. He was playing good, making a good living at it. And he was a pretty young guy. He was only 30 or 31,” Letowski said.

Vasicek spent parts of six seasons with the Hurricanes, where his teammates also included Thunder Bay’s Eric Staal.

"Joe was an awesome guy, always in good spirits, always smiling," Staal told the Raleigh-News Observer. "It's just a tragedy."

Vasicek spent the past three seasons playing with the KHL’s Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, one of the top teams the international circuit has to offer.

Letowski said he also had a passing acquaintance with Lokamotiv coach Brad McCrimmon, an 18-year veteran, who retired from the NHL in 1996-97, the year before Letowski turned pro.

“I’d met him,” Letowski said. “He’s a respected person around the hockey world. He played a long time in the league, coached in the NHL. You talk to most guys who have played in the NHL and they know him. He’s just a great person. And he’s only been over there a couple of months.”

The team was leaving for Minsk, where they were set to open the 2011-12 season, when the plane crashed into a bank along the Volga River, some 240 kilometres northeast of Moscow.  

“It’s tough,” said Letowski, his voice cracking slightly.

Though much speculation has been made in the media about the plane, a 1993 Yak-42 model, Letowski said he never felt worried while traveling with Astana Barys.

“To be honest, no, I wasn’t. I can’t speak for all the teams. I’ve heard stories, but in my first-hand experience, it was good. My plane was great. We never had any issues. I wasn’t worried about it,” he said, pointing out that in terms of KHL history, the Lokamotiv would be considered an Original Six franchise, a deep-pocketed organization.

Accidents happen, he said, adding he hopes people don’t jump to conclusions because of where this one happened. 

“This was not a small-market team. This was one of the top teams in the league,” he said, adding it’s a team foreign-born players wanted to play for.

The Russian transportation minister was immediately sent to the site, and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev planned to visit the crash site as well.

Only one player on the plane, Alexander Galiomov, and a crew member, survived the crash. There are mixed reports about their conditions.