The widow of former NHL star Karlis Skrastins, who was killed in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in September, has given birth to his daughter, the Kontinental Hockey League said Friday.
The entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl roster was killed when their plane crashed shortly after take-off on the way to their first game of the season in Minsk, Belarus. The sole survivor was Alexander Sizov, a member of the cabin crew.
Zena Skrastins has named her new daughter Vivien, the league said on its official Facebook page.
Skrastins played 832 games in the NHL from 1998, when he was drafted by the Nashville Predators, to 2011, when he left the Dallas Stars to join Lokomotiv.
Skrastins, who also played for the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers, and was captain of the Latvian national team at the time of his death.
"I wish good health, beauty and love upon the girl, patience to the mother in eternal memory of the Ironman," one fan, Facebook user Kristina Delvere, said, refering to a nickname Skrastins was given in the NHL.
Skrastins played 487 consecutive NHL matches for Nashville and Colorado to earn the nickname.
