The national university ice hockey team of Ukraine travelled to Saskatchewan to kick off their Hockey Can’t Stop Tour against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
“The Hockey Can’t Stop Tour is about our intention to show to the biggest hockey country in the world that Ukraine is still alive, that Ukraine is a free country, that we are independent, that we still have hockey alive,” said Aleksandra Slatvytska, CEO of the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine.
The tour is one way the ice hockey federation of Ukraine hopes to keep the sport of hockey alive and well in Ukraine despite the ongoing war against Russia.
“This foundation wants to help kids to stay in hockey, we want to help kids who lost their parents in the war,” added Slatvytska.
She wants the tour to branch out further, to become a long-standing hockey relationship between Ukraine and Canada.
“It’s going to be a start. Different kind of programs, experience, exchange programs where we will be able to send here kids hockey teams for some camps or invite Canadian specialists to come to Ukraine to share the experience and knowledges.”
For many players on the Ukraine team it was the first-time visiting Canada.
Vadym Shakharaichuk, head coach, said it means a lot for the team to be able to travel and play in Canada.
“For us it’s very important to participate as a game in Canada, Canada is number one in hockey for us,” said Shakharaichuk.
Bohdan Stupak, forward for Ukraine said there’s one thing he noticed immediately in coming to Canada.
“Cold. Back home its warmer. Here it’s cold but it’s nice, it’s a good feeling when you come here it’s cold and it feels like hockey,” said Stupak.
Stupak said this opportunity means a lot not only to him, but to all the players after their home country has gone through so much.
“It’s hard because we have to play and practice under the missiles they sent, sometimes no electricity, but we fight through and we become better from it everyday,” Stupak added.
The tour is raising funds for refugees, humanitarian goals, and the reconstruction of arenas destroyed in the war.
In his personal career Mykhailo Simchuk plays for the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. His family is home in Ukraine. Simchuk said it’s hard when his family is still in the warzone.
“Every morning they woke up because of the rockets and air dangers, that’s so hard,” said Simchuk.
The team was not able to get the win as the Huskies took the game by a score of 2-0.
Now they will head west to Calgary and Edmonton before coming back east to play in Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre.
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