A goal bigger than hockey

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This article was published 24/11/2022 (1027 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s an opportunity to raise money for their war-torn country, showcase their talents and, maybe most importantly, for the Ukrainian men’s under-25 national hockey team to find peace on the ice for two weeks.

The Ukrainian national team will visit four universities in Western Canada for exhibition games beginning in late December as a part of their Hockey Can’t Stop Tour. The University of Manitoba Bisons will be the last stop on the docket, with the squads set to square off Jan. 9 at Canada Life Centre. Ukraine will also make stops at the universities of Saskatchewan, Calgary and Alberta.

Profits from ticket sales will go toward saving grassroots hockey organizations and other humanitarian efforts in the embattled country.

“It’s been pretty tight here because Russia is hitting our cities almost every day, and my team is practising almost every day and we don’t have electricity sometimes and water, so it’s pretty hard to practice in Ukraine,” said Savva Serdiuk, Ukraine’s talented young starting goaltender, from his hotel room in Kyiv on Thursday afternoon. “I’m really happy to go to Canada to play against some of the best teams in Canada. It’s really cool for me.”

“The main thing for us is to play our best hockey, to show our hockey to Canadians, because Canadians love hockey. The other thing is to fundraise money for people who are getting old in this war and just help everyone in Ukraine — the little kids who play in Ukraine and, trying be professional players and just trying to reconstruct our arenas in Ukraine.”

Serdiuk, 18 and a top emerging talent in the European country, has been in Kyiv for the past six months and had been without running water and heat for 24 hours at the time he spoke with media. He’s been able to find solace in hockey over the past few months when he hasn’t been in a bomb shelter, but those opportunities have been hard to come by with just four arenas still useable in the country. Many of the players on the roster also can’t leave the country without permission.

“It’s kind of an escape (right now) because hockey, it’s probably one of the best things in my life and when I come into practices every morning I feel like I’m in a safe place with my friends. I’m doing better when I’m practicing,” he said.

“This is a great opportunity for me as a hockey player, because we can’t leave the country. Probably, it’s one of the biggest tours for me, in my life. It just means a lot for me. I just love Canadian people because they’re really kind and they’re just trying to help us. So, it means a lot for me to go play in Canada.”

The idea for the initiative sprouted in August at the IIHF World Junior Championships in Edmonton, where TSN commentator Gord Miller sat with Oleksandra Slatvytska, CEO of the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine, who spoke about her continuing struggle to find a safe place for the team to play and train ahead of the Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., in January.

At a nearby table, Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant general manager Brad Holland overheard the conversation and suggested Miller get in touch with some of the coaches from the U Sports’ Canada West Conference to set up some scrimmages. Two weeks later, as Miller put it, they were working on a schedule.

“Mike Sirant (Bisons head coach) in Manitoba talked with the Jets about maybe working together on something, and a couple of days later, Mark Chipman (chairman of True North Sports and Entertainment, the owner of the Winnipeg Jets) said, ‘You can use our arena,’” said Miller. “So that’s an exciting opportunity for the Ukrainian team to play in an NHL building, in front of what we hope is a huge crowd.”

All four games will not only serve as a much-needed test for the Ukrainians ahead of their global competition in the new year, but will also help the university teams stay sharp as they prepare to make their respective pushes for playoffs in the CanWest conference.

“That’s the key is that we want to put on a really good show for showcasing Ukrainian hockey in Winnipeg and of course the Bison hockey program,” Sirant said.

“It’s gonna be a different style of play, which is gonna be a great experience for our student-athletes. We will have the luxury of pre-scouting the Ukrainians… but we’re looking forward to an excellent level of competition to help the Ukrainians prepare for the World University Games and also for us going into the second half (of the season).”

Sirant added the game in Manitoba’s capital will be a “real cultural event” for the city’s growing Ukrainian population.

“It’s more than just a game. We’re gonna create opportunities for our players to interact with the Ukrainians and just get to know them, find out about hockey in Ukraine and find out what’s happening in their country,” he said.”

“Obviously, we hear it on the news, but now the chance to sit down with the Ukrainians in one-on-one conversations and really find out what’s happening and how they’re coping. It’s gonna such an educational opportunity for our players and certainly, give us gratitude as to all the things we maybe take for granted on a daily basis and really create a feeling of respect for the Ukrainians.”

Bisons assistant captain Dylan Thiessen said the team is eager to play the Ukrainian team in front of what is expected to be a raucous crowd.

“It’ll definitely become more clear once we get closer to the game, but I think the love of the game and the level of competition and going out there and having fun with your friends, I think sometimes we maybe take for granted here, when we do have no conflict and electricity,” he said.

“But they’re still coming together as a team, they’re having fun, getting over to Canada and also creating some awareness for things that are bigger than hockey. It’s something hockey can do, we can bring people together and I think it’s gonna be great.”

Slatvytska interjected in a question directed at a player on the Ukrainian national team to explain how the war has created a more selfless way of thinking among the country’s inhabitants.

“Kids really did not understand the war when it first started, and to (preserve) their psychological health, it was really important to provide them with the opportunity to continue hockey,” she said.

“With every missile, with every attack, with every challenge, we became stronger. We believed more that we should be alive, and if we’re still alive, we’re supposed to help those people who are dying right now. It’s our obligation right now to do whatever is best, and this tour is an opportunity for us to do our best, to fundraise some money and to help Ukrainians in general.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam