Russia’s triumph at the world ice hockey championships should be dedicated to the memory of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players who died in an air crash in September, Russia coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov has said.
Russia won the world title for the first time since 2009 by beating Slovakia 6-2 in the final in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on Sunday.
The entire Lokomotiv roster was among 44 people who died when the team’s plane crashed on the way to the first game of the season in Minsk, Belarus. Every team in the KHL wore patches in their memory for the remainder of the 2011-12 season.
“It would be great to dedicate this win to Lokomotiv,” Bilyaletdinov said after Sunday’s match, his eyes welling with tears.
“It was a great team. A lot of our excellent players played there, many foreigners too. It would be absolutely the right thing to do.”
Bilyaletdinov took the helm as coach after Russia slumped to fourth at the 2011 world championships, replacing Vyacheslav Bykov, and said he was proud to win the title at his first attempt.
“Obviously I’m happy. For me it’s my first world championships, and it’s victorious,” he said.
“I’m more pleased for the teams, for the guys. But a victory for our country, that’s very important too. It’s necessary. And it’s pleasing.”
The triumph was Russia first at the world championships since 2009, when the Russians defeated Canada 2-1 in the final in Bern, Switzerland, and the country’s fourth title since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Next year’s tournament will also be played in Helsinki and Stockholm, the first time since 1970 that the same hosts have held the tournament two years running.
Lokomotiv will re-enter the KHL for 2012-13 with a team made up of new signings and players from the team’s youth system, and coached by former Washington Capitals forward Tom Rowe, who was most recently a member of the Carolina Hurricanes coaching staff.
