A group of young Ukrainian refugees will be returning to Quebec City to play local hockey for at least two years, escaping the ongoing war, which has directly affected their hometowns and families.
“They’re going to Saint Patrick’s High School in Quebec City,” confirmed Sean Berube, one of a group of people who secured visitors’ visas for the boys. “All of them will be playing on the same team.”
Six boys, all of them aged 13, will make the trip from Ukraine to Quebec. They are Maksym Shtepa, Artem Kovalenko, Mykyta Staskevych, Ehor Kosenko, Matvi Kulish and Ehor Pyshalko. Some of them live in towns nearby ongoing shelling, while others live in the direct line of the Russian invasion.
“There have been some heavy bombings,” said Berube.
“One of our players, his apartment was pretty much burned down because of a missile strike,” he added. “They’re having a tough time.”
It will be a return trip for the six -- they were already members of an all-Ukrainian Peewee team that played an international tournament in Quebec City back in February.
They played for stadiums packed with spectators, attracting 18,000 people to their first game on Feb. 11. Some 18,000 fans packed into the Videotron Centre, many of whom were dressed in white, to symbolize peace, and waving Ukrainian Flags.
The team celebrated their first win that day against the Boston Junior Bruins.
"Congratulations on your great victory! You show us all your courage in such difficult circumstances. We are with you with all our heart,” wrote Quebec Premier Francois Legault to social media that evening.
While several of the young players had since returned to other countries in Eastern Europe, six of them went back to Ukraine. Before they left, according to Berube, they had asked to stay in Quebec.
“I saw those players who didn’t want to go back, they wanted to stay,” he said. “I thought, ‘well there should be a part two, and a part three, to this project.’”
He says they’re waiting to find out how long their visas will allow them to stay, but that it’s possible they could be allowed to remain until 2025.
A PERSONAL MISSION
Berube says he feels personally attached to the players. “My heart is really tied to Ukraine,” he told CTV.
“Thirty years ago, when I was 14 years old, I went to play there for three years,” he said, adding that he had lived with a Ukrainian family during his time in the country. “So, of course, I really want to give back to Ukraine.”
He says the six will start out playing high school hockey with local teams, but that the boys have expressed interest in reaching the major junior level and beyond.
“I want to give those boys a chance to really live their childhood,” he said.
