Five years ago the plane crashed, which was supposed to deliver the players of the Yaroslavl “Locomotive” to the first game of the season. It was supposed to be held in Minsk. In that tragedy only the engineer managed to survive. Josef Vasicek, one of the team leaders, flew to the game as part of the hockey club. Forward was known to many fans of this sport not only in Russia but also in their homeland. Czech hockey player fell in love with fans of the team from Yaroslavl immediately after moving from the “New York Islanders”. Joseph was remembered as a talented player and a person with a good soul.
Biography
Josef Vášicek was born on September 12, 1980. The birthplace was the town of Havlíčkv Brod, which is located on the Sazava River in the Czech Republic. On the ice, Joseph played the role of a central striker. In 2005 he became the world champion, and in 2006 - the winner of the Stanley Cup.
Early career
At the age of 15, Vashicek was already in one of the youth teams that played in Extra League. His debut, I must say, was a success. In the first 36 games he managed to score 50 points. This Joseph was able to surprise not only the leadership, but also teammates. On ice, it was difficult to beat: he showed high speed, coupled with power.
After the end of the season, “Pepa” (this is not a nickname, but a diminutive of Joseph in the Czech language) attracted the interest of “Slavia” - one of the key clubs in the country. Here he begins to play for the youth team, where he receives great opportunities and scores even more points in a year. At that time, Joseph Vashicek met with Zbynek Irgl, with whom he later played in Yaroslavl. Then he took the 4th place at the European Championship with the Czech youth team. For “Slavia” Joseph Vasichek, whose statistics surprised even professionals, held 71 games.
Then the athlete decides to go overseas, where any young hockey player wanted to go. True, he moved not to the NHL, but to the OHL, where he began to play for Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
In the new league, Josef Vashicek did not go unnoticed, gaining 151 points in two seasons. Soon he was nominated for the title of best newcomer, and then completely received the captain's armband. Gradually, he became an indispensable leader and the most recognizable player in the league. At the same time, he became the world champion among youth teams.
"Carolina Hurricanes"
In 2000, promising Josef began to notice the NHL clubs. The fastest turned out to be “Carolina Hurricanes”, which concluded a contract with the striker. Here the young striker had a very hard time. Glasses got with great difficulty, had to compete with star hockey players. Of course, good games happened, but Vashicek clearly did not pretend to be the NHL star. However, his help in the victories was invaluable. Already in the first season, Joseph helped the club break into the Stanley Cup final . True, the prestigious trophy was won only in 2006.
In the period from 2004 to 2005, Vashicek plays for “Slavia” from Prague. In a successful year for “Carolina Hurricanes,” Josef Washiček suffered serious knee damage and was eliminated in nearly 60 games. The season was marked by the Stanley Cup win, which is the most prestigious trophy for teams from North America.
Then there was Nashville, in which the striker did not take root. In 2007, he made the transition to New York Islanders, where he stayed for only a year. It seemed that the player’s career was declining.
"Locomotive"
In the summer of 2008, Joseph signed a contract with Lokomotiv from Yaroslavl. Here the player quickly fell in love, gave him cute nicknames and almost wore on his hands. It was clear that the hockey player had finally begun to progress. Already in the debut season, he won silver medals with the team in the championship. In the 2010/11 season, Lokomotiv becomes the third in the national championship.
Joseph was able to take root in Russia, began to speak Russian. He sincerely fell in love with the Yaroslavl club, fans who reciprocated. Of course, he was at that time one of the best legionnaires in the KHL.
On September 7, Josef Vasicek died in a plane crash along with his teammates. At that time he was only 30 years old. This is the age at which many hockey players only fully disclose.
In the evening, more than 10,000 people gathered to commemorate the dead hockey players. The action took place near the Arena 2000 complex. People brought flowers and candles.
The cause of the crash was the wrong actions of the aircraft captain and his assistant, who involuntarily pressed the brake pedals, which led to an emergency situation. In addition to the official, there are a number of unofficial versions of the causes of the crash of the aircraft.