A newly formed Lokomotiv Yaroslavl reached the last eight Wednesday in Russia’s second-tier MHL hockey league playoffs, seven months after the entire KHL roster died in a plane crash.
Lokomotiv assembled a makeshift team from youth players and loan signings from other teams after the disaster to compete in the MHL as a platform a KHL return next season.
Lokomotiv beat VMF St. Petersburg 2-1 on Wednesday to reach the MHL Western Conference semifinals with a 4-1 series win, which coach Pyotr Vorobev said was important for the team’s revival.
“Games like this are very important for all players’ development, but especially for the development of our lads,” Vorobev said Wednesday.
“The team was able to cope with anxiety and showed character and dedication. It’s good experience.”
The playoffs added a new dimension to the team’s development as the players learned to cope with pressure, he said.
“The day before, we told the players that if they didn’t get past the first round, it would be a failure, as if we’d never played in the regular season. The playoffs are a new level for professional development.”
Lokomotival will now play Diesel Penza in the Western Conference semifinals this month.
There is “no doubt” that the team will return to the KHL next season, the competition’s vice-president Vladimir Shalaev said last week. He added that Lokomotiv would probably elect to keep a team in the MHL to help its recovery.
