From Rodgers’ Sportsnet Magazine comes this recently published, absolutely heartrending look at the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash from September 7th. The article, a tough read in its own right, comes with an accompanying video interview with Igor Korolev’s daughter, Kristina Korolev. Korolev was drafted by the St. Louis Blues 38th overall in the 1992 NHL draft, and spent two seasons with the team before heading to Winnipeg/Phoenix, and then to Toronto to spend the most productive years of his career with the Maple Leafs.
↵Korolev was killed along with former Blue Pavol Demitra and the rest of the Lokomotiv team, their coaching staff, as well as flight attendants and both pilots. Korolev was acting as an assistant coach under former Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Brad McCrimmon. He played for Lokomotiv the previous season, scoring five goals and fifteen assists in 48 games.