September 7, 2011. It’s a date that still knifes at the hearts of many, though it has since been forgotten by the world at large.
That was the day 26 professional hockey players, 11 coaches and staff, and seven crew members lost their lives in a horrific plane crash near the Russian city of Yaroslavl. The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crash remains one of the deadliest accidents involving a sports team in history. It sent shockwaves throughout the hockey world and left a whole nation distraught.
Jori Lehtera, the new Flyers forward acquired in the Brayden Schenn trade, could’ve been on that plane.