Linus Omark, a fourth-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2007, is speaking about his experience playing in Russia's KHL for five seasons and why he left. Omark says he was suffering from psychological issues that were compounded by a crippling fear of flying.
"The fear was so great that I became deathly anxious while in Russia. I'm not kidding. There were a lot of games when I felt like I was going to die on the ice," said Omark. "I felt like I needed to feel good mentally. That was one of the reasons I left the KHL."
"Imagine this. Once ten times in a season you stand on the blue line, look at the ceiling and think that you're going to die, you're going to die. Those are horrible thoughts, very difficult to get rid of. But sometimes I was able to do it."
Omark said he often thought of the tragedy of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. The entire team was killed in a plane crash in September of 2011. There were 45 players and coaching staff on the aircraft. All but one was killed.
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Omark, 34, played 79 games in the NHL, most of them with Edmonton, but he also had a short stint with the Buffalo Sabres. After leaving the KHL, he went to the Swiss National League before returning home to Sweden for this season. However, he said he has plans to go back to Switzerland again next season.
Source:
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