YAROSLAVL, Russia – An estimated crowd of more than 100,000 including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said goodbye to members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team Saturday as word came out that the team’s fate would be taken up early next week.
Mourners filed into the team’s home arena and laid flowers near 14 coffins which held the remains of players and staff of the team who perished when their flight to Minsk went down along the Volga River just after takeoff. 36 of the 45 people on board were members of the Lokomotiv team., many with ties to the NHL.
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Mourners attend the memorial for the Lokomotiv team (Photo courtesy of SovSport.ru)
Both SovSport and the Kontinental Hockey League’s website reported that on Monday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will hold a meeting regarding the fate of the Lokomotiv team with regards to the 2011-2012 season and beyond. In addition to the Russian president, the meeting will be attended by leaders of the Kontinental Hockey League, the Russian Hockey Federation, the Ministry of Sports, Railways which owns the team, the Yaroslavl region governor, representatives of the Lokomotiv team and fans.
Earlier in the week, KHL head Alexander Medvedev announced that the team would be rebuilt for play this year, putting forth an idea of players from the other teams in the KHL going into a draft. More than 30 former Lokomotiv players have already volunteered to return to Yaroslavl to suit up.
As the magnitude of Wednesday’s tragic crash of the Yak-42 airplane has hit the city 150 miles northeast of Moscow, differing opinions of whether the team should be rebuilt now have surfaced. On Friday, Lokomotiv team president Yuri Yakovlev dismissed the idea, saying that the franchise needs to have other priorities.
“Yaroslavl Lokomotiv will not take part in this season the KHL regular season,” Yakovlev said. “Our primary goal is to help (the) families and then we’ll revive the team. Therefore, (as far as) performance in the KHL, we will continue next year. It is our firm position.”
Yaroslavl region governor Sergey Vakhrukov said Wednesday night that regional authorities would do everything possible to revive the Lokomotiv. “The spirit of Lokomotiv was formed over the years. We must restore it and return those traditions which are rightly proud of Yaroslavl,” he said. “I am confident that the new team will love the city, no less. And we for our part will do everything in our power to help the new Lokomotiv to achieve the heights of the former.”
The two survivors of the crash – forward Alexander Galimov and flight crew member Alexander Sizov – remain in critical condition in a Moscow hospital. Both men were put into drug-induced comas to help doctors keep them alive. Hospital officials said that Galimov has burns over 90 percent of his body.
Investigators have recovered both black boxes from the plane and are trying to get information. Early reports said that all of the plane’s engines appeared to be working at the time of the crash. Speculation has surfaced about low grade fuel but airport authorities have dismissed those reports.
The KHL and its players union also announced that as a tribute to the Lokomotiv team, the opening game of the season between the Gagarin Cup winner and runner-up will henceforth be playing for the Lokomotiv Cup.
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