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.
| Kārlis Skrastiņš | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Skrastiņš in 2006 | |||
| Born |
July 9, 1974 Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Died |
September 7, 2011 (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 | ||
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
editSkrastiņš 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
editSkrastins 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
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| 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
edit| 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
editReferences
edit- ^ "Life.ru» — информационный портал". Life News (in Russian). Lifenews.ru. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
- ^ "Karlis Skrastins #37 – D". TSN.ca. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ^ "Karlis Skrastins". Legends of Hockey.net. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ^ "Avalanche blue-liner Karlis Skrastins sets ironman mark". CBC.ca. February 8, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ^ "Skrastins' consecutive game streak ends at 495". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 26, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ^ "Karlis Skrastins, Ice Hockey". Vancouver 2010.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ^ "Avalanche acquire Ruslan Salei". CBC. February 26, 2008. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
- ^ "Wild Thrash Panthers with 6 goals". NHL. October 16, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
- ^ "Predators outlast Panthers". CBS Sports. November 1, 2008. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
- ^ "Dallas Stars Sign Skrastins To 2-Year Deal". CBS 11 TV.com. Associated Press. July 2, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Stars snap Red Wings' four-game winning streak". USA Today. Associated Press. December 19, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
- ^ "NHL defender in Yaroslavl". Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. May 17, 2011. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ^ "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia confirms that Skrastins has died". Tvnet (in Latvian). Retrieved September 7, 2011.
- ^ "First pictures from the crash of Yak-42 near Yaroslavl". Lifenews.ru. September 7, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
- ^ "The list of Lokomotiv players who died". Lifenews.ru. September 7, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Lynn Berry (September 7, 2011). "Russian jet crash kills 43, many top hockey stars". Forbes. Retrieved September 7, 2011.[dead link]
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Kārlis Skrastiņš at Olympedia
- Kārlis Skrastiņš at Olympics.com
- Kārlis Skrastiņš at the Latvijas Olimpiskā komiteja (in Latvian) (English translation, archive)
