Life story
Pavol Demitra was born in Dubnica nad Váhom. He began playing elite-level hockey in the final season of the Czechoslovak league for Dukla Trenčín and made his NHL debut the following season with the Ottawa Senators. From 1996 he played for the St. Louis Blues, then for the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks.
In 2000 he received the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, an award for a player who combines performance with exemplary conduct — that same year he also received the Fair Play Award from the Slovak Olympic Committee. In 2003 he was named the best Slovak hockey player in the Golden Puck poll.
He represented Slovakia at six World Championships and three Olympic Games. He ended his international career after the home World Championships in May 2011 and went on to play for Russian Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
He perished on September 7, 2011 in an air disaster near Yaroslavl together with the entire team. In 2021 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Ľudovít Štúr, First Class.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).
Constellation of Life
Important milestones that shaped their journey.