Monday marked the ninth anniversary of a tragedy that took the life of New York Rangers defenseman, Alexander Karpovtsev.
On September 7, 2011, the New York Rangers and the entire hockey community were rocked by the news that the charter plane carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL hockey team crashed on take-off from their home airport in Yaroslav. Of the 45 people on board the aircraft, only one survived.
The news hit the Rangers hard because Lokomotiv assistant coach Alexander Karpovtsev was one of those killed. Karpovtsev, known as “Potsy” was a rookie defenseman on the 1994 New York Rangers Stanley Cup championship team. He played in 17 playoff games that spring, finishing with four assists.
Along with Sergei Zubov, Sergei Nemchinov and Alex Kovalev, the four were the first Russians to have their names engraved on Lord Stanley’s Cup.
We remember Alexander Karpovtsev, Karel Rachunek and all those members of our hockey family that we lost on this day 7 years ago. #RIPLokomotiv pic.twitter.com/Ea54onKKju
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 7, 2018
Karpovtsev played 12 years in the NHL for the Rangers, Maple Leafs, Islanders, Blackhawks and Panthers. He was an assistant with Lokomotiv under NHL veteran Brad McCrimmon who also died.
Karpovtsev played five seasons in New York and was a reliable stay-at-home defenseman who scored nine goals and 38 points in 1996-97. In 1998 he was traded to Toronto in exchange for defenseman Mathieu Schneider.
Two other players with Rangers connections also perished. Karel Rachunek was a Czech defenseman who played one full season and part of another for the Rangers after coming over in a trade from Ottawa. Jan Marek was an eighth round draft pick by the Rangers in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. The Czech forward never made it to the NHL.
REMEMBERING LOCOMOTIV YAROSLAVL September 7, 2011
— RNYRF (@RNYRF) September 7, 2020
Remembering New York Rangers Alumni Alexander Karpovtsev, Karel Rachunek, Rangers 2003 draft pick Jan Marek, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Hockey Team and the flight crew of Yak-Service Flight 9633 #NYR #Locomotiv2011 pic.twitter.com/AKbShTpU14
Rangers president Glen Sather issued a statement after the accident.
“The New York Rangers organization is greatly saddened after learning of today’s tragedy. Words cannot begin to express the magnitude of devastation for such unimaginable loss. Two Rangers alumni and one former draft pick perished in the accident. Alexander Karpotsev helped to bring a Stanley Cup Championship to New York in 1994. Karel Rachunek played two seasons in New York, and Jan Marek was a former draft pick. Our sincerest condolences go out to the families of these players, and the families of all those lost today.”
There is some controversy in Russia over the fact that the KHL is in action on September 7. The league went dark for the first six years on that date to commemorate the crash, but since 2018, they have had games on the schedule.
To this date, Alexander Karpovtsev is the only member of the 1994 Stanley Cup team to pass away. Condolences from all Ranger fans to the families of the players who died in that tragedy.