Dmitri Yushkevich ends active career with immediate effect due to a tragic family accident.

CHEREPOVETS, Russia - He wasn't the typical Russian player in the NHL. Dmitri Yushkevich did not dazzle opponents with blazing speed and tricky moves. Instead, he was a strong, rugged rearguard and expert shot-blocker.

At the age of 37, Yushkevich was forced to say goodbye to the game after the tragic death of his first wife in California. With three children to take care of there is no room left any more for hockey.

"I should pay more attention to my children and I couldn't combine my career with family troubles," said Yushkevich to Russian newspaper Sport-Express. "I thought about this problem for a long time and decided that I need to stick to one job because I need to bring up my children. I didn't want to come up the ice with all my thoughts concentrated on my children so the only way out was to finish my career when the season is in full swing."

The Cherepovets-born defenceman went through a lot during his career, which lasted 20 years spread over three decades.

His talent was discovered already at a young age. The defenceman participated in no less than three World Junior Championships for the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991 grabbing a gold medal in his debut year followed by a pair of silver.

In 1991, he was drafted in the sixth round of the NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. It was somewhat ironic he, along with Andrei Lomakin, was drafted by the team after owner Ed Snider had vowed never to have a Russian player play for the Flyers (unless defecting) to protest against the Soviet human rights situation.

The year he entered the NHL he also captured a gold medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics. Yushkevich didn't need much time to adapt and instantly became a vital part of the Flyers' defence where he was nicknamed "The Russian Tank".

szegény:S