Dallas Stars: Remembering Former Star Karlis Skrastins

On September 7, 2011, the hockey world mourned as the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL hockey team tragically passed away in a plane crash. Today, we remember the entire team, specifically former Dallas Stars defenseman Karlis Skrastins.

No one has a year long calendar filled with happy days and happy memories. As much as you may like to, it just doesn’t happen. It’s a fact of life.

Before too long, you come across a day with a bad or painful memory or make one that sticks in your memory forever. And on September 7, 2011, the memories of Dallas Stars fans were changed forever.

That is the day that the plane carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL hockey team crashed during takeoff, claiming the lives of all but one on board. One of the players on board happened to be former Stars defenseman Karlis Skrastins.

Though Skrastins had signed a contract with the KHL in May 2011 and left the North America, he finished his 12-year NHL career with the Dallas Stars. He spent two seasons (2009-2011) in Dallas with the Stars. He was 37 when he died.

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Skrastins had a long and exciting professional hockey career, playing 12 years split between the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, and Dallas Stars. He was drafted in the ninth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Preds and began his NHL journey there. Skrastins began NHL play in the season immediately following the draft, and the rest is history.

Though he wasn’t the most well-known defender, he did his job and served his team. In two seasons with the Stars, he played in 153 games, tallying five goals and 21 total points.

He made plenty of flashy denials (as you’ll see in the video below) and well-timed defensive plays. And after all, that’s exactly what you want from a defenseman.

After the plane crash, the Dallas Stars organization came together in remembrance. They wore decals with the number 37 on the back of their helmets in the following season to honor his legacy and time with Dallas.

They also began a trust fund in Skrastins’ honor, and gave each player on the team the chance to donate. Stars owner Tom Gagladri pledged to match the total donation to the fund as well. The donations went to Skrastins’ wife and children in preparation for their future.

A pre-game ceremony was also held in honor of Skrastins during a game against the Calgary Flames, and honored Skrastins’ memory and his family.

The Latvian born hockey player was another one taken much too soon from us. But his loss stings closer to home. Losing a member of the Dallas Stars community is never easy, simply because of the family and connectedness that has been built over the past 25 years.

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So take a moment today to not only remember Karlis Skrastins and the impact he had on the Dallas Stars organization, but also the impact he had on the hockey community as a whole. It’s been six years, and that’s hard enough to believe. Take a moment today to remember just how truly special life is and how special it is to be a member of the Dallas Stars family. It’s truly one of a kind.