Brooks a refuge from war for Bandits’ Ukrainian duo

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This article was published 19/05/2023 (1176 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — The Russian invasion of Ukraine has had a profound affect on many lives — Mikhail Simchuk and Danylo Korzhyletskyi included.

The young Ukrainians have a very personal connection to the war, even though they are living and playing hockey thousands of kilometres from home for the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Brooks Bandits.

Simchuk, a 20-year-old centre, is in frequent contact with his parents, little sister and 16-year-old brother at home in Kyiv.

“We will try to talk every day but usually we can’t because they often doesn’t have electricity in the house,” said Simchuk following a Friday practice as the Bandits prepared for Saturday’s semifinals at the Centennial Cup national junior A hockey championship. “They are trying to not talk too much about war with me, but I’m always checking.”

Korzhyletskyi, a 19-year-old right-winger from Kyiv, has a similar story.

His father and older brother are currently on leave after serving with the Ukrainian military. Danylo left to play for Amarillo Wranglers of the North American Hockey League in early February of 2022, just weeks before the Russian invasion, and hasn’t been back home since.

In July, the Bandits reached out to the duo via Instagram.

“We got an email in the off-season from Hockey Canada about compassionate releases and so we just saw it as an opportunity to maybe make our team better and possibly help a couple of young men,” explained Brooks GM and head coach Ryan Papaioannou.

“Our head scout Wayne Labrie got on it with me and the first thing we did was try to figure out who the best players in their country were for the under-20 level and looked at their national team. The top two scorers were Simchuk and Korzhyletskyi, so we reached out.”

Korzhyletskyi, already based in North America, was easily sold on the idea of going to Brooks and Simchuk, a childhood friend and frequent linemate in minor hockey, wasn’t far behind.

“I mean, this is where the real hockey is so it was kind of a goal for me,” said Korzhyletskyi. “So I’m really happy to come to Brooks.”

Added Simchuk: “This was really simple for me to sign a contract with the Brooks,” said Simchuk. “Because I really, really wanted to always be in Canada in an organization like Brooks and I’m really happy it happened.”

Korzhyletskyi finally arrived in Brooks 10 games into the regular season while Simchuk took longer, reaching Alberta at mid-season, but the results have been undeniable.

Playing on the club’s nominal fourth line with left-winger Elliot Dutil, a Montreal product, Simchuk scored 26 points in 29 regular-season games while Korzhyletskyi has chipped with 44 points in 52 regular-season games.

“I mean, it’s kind of different style of hockey, but I think I adapted pretty quick here with the coaches,” said Korzhyletskyi, who hopes to return to Brooks in 2023-24 for his overage sesaon. “We have a really good coaching staff, so it wasn’t really hard challenge with these guys.”

Simchuk even took a three-week detour during the season to play for the Ukrainian U23 team that toured Western Canada (with a stop in Winnipeg) early in 2023 and participated in the World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., while Korzhyletskyi took time to suit up for the Ukrainian squad at U20 Division I Group B world championship in Poland.

Papaioannou believes both players are capable of earning NCAA Division I scholarships, although Simchuk is in his final season of junior eligibility.

“For them to be able to have a place to play and have some structure and continuity to their day-to-day I think that was huge for them,” said Papaioannou. “For us, they’ve been a pretty good source of realism for our players and our staff. Just when you think you’re having a bad day, really you’re not.”

Papaioannou, his staff and players got a sense of life in wartime from videos Korzhyletskyi was receiving from home.

“The interesting part for us was when we recruited (Korzhyletskyi) we were learning about his brother and his dad and him sending us videos and seeing things that weren’t part of the mainstream media — like actual raw footage and it was pretty unsettling,” said Papaioannou. “And I think it just made us want to work harder to help them get here and get going.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14