Alexander Vasyunov

Alexander Vasyunov
Born	Alexander Sergeevich Vasyunov (1988-04-22) 22 April 1988 Yaroslavl, Russia
Died	7 September 2011(2011-09-07) (aged 23) Near Yaroslavl, Russia
Occupation	Professional ice hockey player
Years active	2004–2011
Known for	Playing for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and New Jersey Devils; victim of the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash

Alexander Sergeevich Vasyunov (; April 22, 1988 – September 7, 2011) was a professional ice hockey player from Russia who competed for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Selected 58th overall in the second round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils, he was considered a promising talent for the NHL team. Vasyunov tragically lost his life in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, which resulted in the death of nearly the entire Lokomotiv roster while traveling to their opening game of the 2011–12 KHL season in Minsk, Belarus.

Playing career

Although chosen by the New Jersey Devils in the 2006 draft, Vasyunov remained with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl until the conclusion of the 2008–09 season. He then transitioned to North America to compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Albany Devils based in Albany, New York. In his third year within the AHL, he was briefly promoted to the NHL in October 2010 as a temporary replacement for Ilya Kovalchuk. After this short tenure, he returned to Albany but was summoned twice more to join New Jersey during the 2010–11 NHL season.

Vasyunov netted his inaugural NHL goal on November 12, 2010, against goaltender Devan Dubnyk of the Edmonton Oilers. On June 27, 2011, he agreed to a one-year contract to rejoin Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL.

On September 7, 2011, Vasyunov perished when a Yakovlev Yak-42 plane carrying almost all members of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed shortly after departing near Yaroslavl. The team was en route to Minsk for their season opener and included players from the main squad, coaching personnel, and prospects.

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004–05	Lokomotiv–2 Yaroslavl	RUS.3		32	9	2	11	8		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl	RSL		2	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Lokomotiv–2 Yaroslavl	RUS.3		29	29	6	35	18		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl	RSL		17	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Lokomotiv–2 Yaroslavl	RUS.3		34	17	9	26	56		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl	RSL		22	4	0	4	4		16	2	0	2	2
2007–08	Lokomotiv–2 Yaroslavl	RUS.3		2	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—
2008–09	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | Kontinental Hockey League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —	—		—	—	—
2008–09 | Lokomotiv–2 Yaroslavl | RUS.3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | —	—	—		—	—
2008–09 AHL season | Lowell Devils | American Hockey League | 69 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 12 | —	—	—		—	—
2009–10 AHL season | Lowell Devils | AHL | 68 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	2010–11 AHL season |Albany Devils |AHL |50 |8 |17 |25 |11 |— |— |— |— |— |-	2010–11 NHL season |New Jersey Devils |National Hockey League |18 |1 |4 |5 |0 |— |— |— |— |— |- style="background:#e0e0e0;"		RSL totals			41	4		0	4	10	16	2	0	2	2
AHL totals				187	39	52	91	33		5	2	2	4	0
NHL totals				18	1	4	5	0		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Tournament	Placement		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
"2005"	"Russia"	"U18"	"4th place"		"5"	"3"	"1"	"4"	"2"
"2006"	"Russia"	"WJC18"	"5th place"		"6"	"2"	"2"	"4"	"6"
"2007"	"Russia"	"WJC"	"Silver medal"		"6"	"2"	"0"	"2"	"2"
Junior career totals !17 !7 !3 !10 !10

See also

• List of ice hockey players who died during their playing career