Demitra among victims of downed jet

Former Minnesota Wild forward Pavol Demitra was one of the passengers on a jet that crashed Wednesday in Tunoshna, Russia, killing 43 of the 45 people on board, including the entire roster of the Kontinental Hockey League team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Demitras agent, Matt Keator, confirmed to the Associated Press that Demitra, 36, was among the dead. Demitra was traded to the Wild during the 2006 NHL draft for prospect Patrick O'Sullivan and a 2006 first-round pick. Demitra scored 64 points in 2006-07 and 54 points in 2007-08 and helped lead the Wild to the playoffs both seasons he was in Minnesota, including in 2007-08, when the team won its first and only division title. Demitra played 16 NHL seasons, the last two with Vancouver after leaving the Wild. He retired with 768 points (304 goals, 464 assists) in 847 games. Other former NHL players on the Lokomotiv roster included Karlis Skrastins, Ruslan Salei, Josef Vasicek, Alexander Vasyunov, Karel Rachunek and coach Brad McCrimmon.