That Tragic Day

September 11, 2011

I know I'm a little late in writing about this, but I needed time to decompress before sitting down at the keyboard...

On September 7, 2011, the hockey world was punched in the gut with the news of a Russian team's jet crashing after takeoff. The team featured players and coaches from ten countries. Several of them had a history of playing in North America, putting the story in the headlines on both sides of the Atlantic.

I was at work that morning, when the boss asked if I had read about the crash. He read to me the names listed in the preliminary story - Pavol Demitra, Ruslan Salei, Josef Vasicek, and Karlis Skrastins.

Whoa. Karlis was on the plane. My heart sank. As memories from twelve years ago swirled through my head, I jumped online to find a complete roster of the team, and was stunned to find Robert Dietrich's name included.

After sending a quick email to a few friends about the awful news, I carried on with my work day, but my mind was occupied with memories of the past and thoughts of the players' families. Whenever I had a free moment, I looked for news updates - hoping to hear that those guys weren't on the plane. There were conflicting news reports, but none of them gave hope that Dietrich or Skrastins survived.

For those who didn't get to see Karlis in Milwaukee, I'll share some of my memories with you.

Milwaukee was Karlis's first time playing away from Europe. The Latvian had played the previous three seasons in Finland. Nashville selected him in the 9th round of the 1998 draft, hoping to have found a hidden gem. Indeed they did.

Skrastins came to Milwaukee in 1998 a few months after getting drafted. The 24-year old was shy and quiet around most fans, but his stout defensive game spoke volumes. He was always in great position and was the best shot blocker I'd seen in the minors.

Helping to welcome Karlis to Milwaukee was a fan from Latvia. His name was Eriks, and he enjoyed taking photographs at the game. Eriks, if you're reading this - I thought of you this week. You have my condolences, as I know how close you were to Karlis.

Eriks created a web site about Karlis while he was here, and I helped him out by making a graphic link to his page. It featured a design using the Latvian flag colors. The site is still partially online (none of it's photo links work). Click on the graphic to check it out.



My favorite memory of Karlis was from the 1999 IHL All Star Game in Cincinnati. He was a late addition to the Western Conference roster after Milwaukee's Kimmo Timonen was called up to the NHL. All of the players from both All Star teams were taking part in an autograph session. I'm not an autograph hound, but after seeing that very few fans were getting his signature, I decided to let him sign my newly purchased All Star game jersey. He had the entire jersey to sign, but he wrote his name as small as possible on my shoulder - all of about two inches.

Skrastins would get his final callup to the NHL in his second season with Milwaukee. He played in 12 NHL seasons with Nashville, Colorado, Florida, and Dallas. He would set the NHL record for the most consecutive games played by a defenseman (495 games). This past May, Karlis signed to play with Yaroslavl.

I'm sure just about all of you reading this are familiar with Robert Dietrich, as he was with the Admirals from 2008-10.

If you haven't read it yet, check out Aaron Sims' blog post about Robert. He gathered up the thoughts of many of his teammates during his time in Milwaukee.

Dietrich also made his North American debut in Milwaukee. The 22-year old from Germany had fellow countryman Alexander Sulzer to help acclimate him to living and playing in the United States.

We'll all remember his smile. He always had a happy look on his face - something that, I'll admit, bothered me when he first joined the team. Hockey players are supposed to have a mean side, right?

I once knew a guy who was always happy, but he had it made. His wife had a high-paying job, and she gave him the freedom to hang out with friends at night. I guess Dietrich had it made too. He was getting paid for doing what he loved. It didn't take long for me to accept his perpetual happy face, as he performed well on the ice and proved to be a genuinely nice guy.

Unfortunately for Robert, Nashville has been pretty deep at defense. He may have had a chance at an NHL roster spot if he was with a different organization. After leaving Milwaukee, he spent last season playing in Germany and signed with Yaroslavl this past summer.

One of the favorite photos I've ever taken was of a Dietrich goal in overtime against Chicago.


If you know me, I always consider former Admirals as part of the extended "family". Players come and go, but I always wish them well when they move on. Both Robert and Karlis will be missed.