Two former Ottawa Senators, an Ottawa draft pick and a Canadian coach are among 43 people who were killed when a private Russian airliner carrying a professional hockey team crashed into a riverbank moments after it took off.

Former Ottawa Senators winger Pavol Demitra and former Sens defenceman Karel Rachunek both died in the crash.

Demitra, who started his NHL career with the Ottawa Senators in 1993 and also played with the Vancouver Canucks, leaves behind a wife and two young children.

Rachunek played for the Ottawa Senators from 1999-2004. He also played for the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. Most recently, he was captain of his Russian hockey team, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, which is part of the Kontinental Hockey League.

The team was on route to its first game of the regular season when their plane crashed moments after takeoff, smashing into a riverbank and bursting into flames.

Hockey players and coaches from 10 different countries were killed. Former NHL players among the dead are Josef Vasicek and Karlis Skrastins. Senators draft pick Vitaly Anikeyenko was also killed in the crash.

There were two survivors, according to Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry. Forty-five people, including 37 passengers and eight crew members, were on board.

Officials say Russian player Alexander Galimov and one crew member survived the crash. Canadian coach Brad McCrimmon, 52, is among those confirmed dead. He had just taken over as head coach of the team in May.

Members of the Ottawa Senators tried to digest the news at practice at Scotiabank Place on Wednesday.

"Obviously tragic," said captain Daniel Alfredsson, who knew three people on board.

He remembered Demitra and Rachunek as good people, and good hockey players.

"Good guys, I mean Pavol with us didn't really find his potential with us but you can see it – great player. Rachunek, same thing. You know, did whatever it took for the team to be successful – solid, steady defenceman. And just good people. And leaving families behind you know that's the saddest part," Alfredsson told reporters on Wednesday.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman released a statement on Wednesday, saying the incident represents a "catastrophic loss" to the hockey world.

The Yak-42 airliner crashed Wednesday as soon as it took off from an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, about 240 kilometres northeast of Moscow. It's one of the worst plane crashes in history involving a sports team.

With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press