Next game doesn’t matter, coach Evgeny Pysarenko knows his Hockey The team of young Ukrainian refugees has already won.
“That’s what I told them,” Pysarenko said. Ukrainian selection’ 2-0 win over team Romania International PV Tournament In Quebec City earlier this week.
What impresses Pysarenko about this collection of 11- and 12-year-olds ukraine and the border countries where their families fled russian invasion Not only this, he has already posted two wins.
Instead, it’s the stoic resilience he’s displayed – mature beyond his age, he says – playing a game in balance while buffering the life-and-death realities that happen at home. Some of his fathers and fathers of friends are at war; One player’s father died fighting in the front line.
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In a time of crisis, the team has fulfilled Pyasarenko’s vision as a symbol of the message of peace and hope he hoped the boys could help deliver to the world and to those who follow the tournament from afar.
“People in Ukraine, they send us messages, thank us, wish us well, whether they are suffering with us or supporting us. It is like a speck of color in their darkness,” said Pysarenko. These kids bring joy.”
The Ukrainians return to the ice on Friday when they face Vermont Flames Academy in a Class AA elimination game. They will have to win two more elimination games on Saturday to play in the championship on Sunday.
Win or lose, the team is already set to leave for Europe on Monday. Difficult as it may be, the verification of the selection authorities has served its purpose of giving the boys some respite from the troubles at home.
Since arriving in Quebec City in early February, the selections have been embraced by the community, given city tours, played street hockey and pickup basketball games, while also enjoying a shopping spree at a sporting equipment store have taken.
Another highlight came on Tuesday, when he was the special guest of the Montreal Canadiens for a game against the Chicago Blackhawks. After meeting the Montreal players in the morning, and being issued the Canadian jerseys, the boys watched the game from a pair of suits. He received a standing ovation from the crowd when the video was shown on the scoreboard, danced to the music during the break, and gorged himself on chocolate chip cookies.
“I think they didn’t realize at first that it’s all real. I think they’re thinking they’re still dreaming,” said Andrey Lupandin, assistant coach of the Selects, whose son Denis played last weekend. He scored two goals in a 3–1 tournament opening victory.
“I think they’ve forgotten about all the bad things that happen in the house, and for three hours during the game, they’re just kids, after all, and aren’t thinking about how they’re going to be.” Am I going to hear some bombs fall on my head,’ he said.
Lupandin could forget even briefly. He and his family have spent the past two months living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan after their home was destroyed in Ukraine.
For Lupandin, the trip provided an opportunity to introduce his son to the same tournaments he competed in with Pysarenko, and helped a team from Kharkiv win the championship in 1992.
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His hosts that year: the family of Sean Berube, now a successful local businessman, who this time handled the diplomatic paperwork to obtain visas and spent some $20,000 of his own money to gather select people in Europe .
“If it weren’t for him, none of these kids probably would be here,” Lupandin said. “So for me, it’s just knowing that people like Sean are still out there and still want to help and want to help with all their hearts, expecting nothing.”
It was nothing, Berube said.
Berube said, “We never would have thought it would turn out so right.” “For him to be on the red carpet with the Montreal Canadiens, I mean, you could see it in his eyes.
“The boys’ eyes were all shining.”
The days of playing selections may not be over. Berube said he has already been invited to play in a European tournament, while he is fielding offers to attend other events.
Forward Zahar Kovalenko described it as an experience he would never forget, including playing a tournament-opening game in front of an 18,000-capacity crowd.
“I’ve never seen that many people at our match. In Ukraine, we had a maximum of 20 people,” Kovalenko said of Saturday’s game, when the Selects and Junior Bruins held hands before and after .
After getting to know some of his teammates when he arrived for training camp in Romania last month, Kovalenko made several new friends along the way. In addition to the bond with his teammates, his billet is the baby of the family whom he now refers to as his brother, and the friends he has made with other teams, including the Junior Bruins, whom he now follows on social media. is following
“Yeah, four guys. I just talked to them. What’s your name? How long do they play hockey and all about that,” Kovalenko said, referring to the Boston players. Knew. And now, I have eight new friends on my team.”
Kovalenko can now count a few Canadian players among them.
“Over there, you never know when a bomb will go off, so it’s hard to walk in their shoes,” said Canadiens forward Alex Belzile. “We were happy to see them.”