Four Canada West hockey teams to host Ukrainian national squad

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has made life stressful and tough for everyone in that country.

But there will be a little bit of light for some of Ukraine’s top athletes.

Four Canada West men’s hockey teams will be hosting the Ukrainian national hockey team in December and January to give players a safe place to train and practise outside of the war-torn country.

The universities of Saskatchewan, Calgary, Alberta and Manitoba will play against the team in four exhibition games on the so-called Hockey Can’t Stop Tour.

Ukrainian goaltender Savva Serdiuk says it has been difficult to practise or even focus on training.

“Russia is hitting our cities almost every day and my team Sokil has practices almost every day and we don’t have electricity sometimes and water and stuff like that,” Serdiuk said.

The tournament was organized by Canada West and broadcaster Gord Miller along with Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation CEO Oleksandra Slatvytska.

Miller said the conversation started this summer during the IIHF world junior tournament and organizers got some help from an NHL team.

“At a nearby table was Jay Woodcroft, the coach of the (Edmonton) Oilers, and assistant GM Brad Holland, and we talked to them and Brad and Jay suggested I talk to (Alberta head coach) Ian Herbers. And Ian suggested I get on a conference call with the Canada West coaches and two weeks later we were working on a schedule,” Miller said.

The Ukrainian players are looking forward to the games, especially as most men aged 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave the country without special permission.

“This is a great opportunity for me as a hockey player … and probably it’s one of the biggest tours for me and it really means a lot to me,” Serdiuk said.

Even though it will be a chance for players to focus on the game, it will be bittersweet as families and relatives won’t be coming along to watch the games.

“I’m really worried about my family because they are in Kyiv and it’s still dangerous here,” Serdiuk added.

It will also give Canada West coaches a chance to teach their players about the impact of these games to understand what’s happening.

“When the Ukrainian team is over here, to have opportunities for our players to talk to the players on that team and really try and get a better understanding of what they went through or what they’re going through from a family level (and)from a sport level is going to be really beneficial to our players moving forward in their lives,” U of S head coach Brandin Cote said.

He says we can watch and read what’s happening on the news, but this allows Canadian players to appreciate the situation they’re in and to hear stories from people who are living it.

“There’s no way that you could really put into words. We have no idea what it’s like over there,” Cote added.

But Serdiuk says there is a lot of appreciation from him and his teammates to get to play in Canada.

“I just love Canadian people because they are really kind and they’re just trying to help us, so yeah, it means a lot for me to go play in Canada,” he added.

Proceeds from all ticket sales is to go towards humanitarian and hockey causes in Ukraine and Ukrainian grassroots organizations in Canada.

Tickets are available now, with the first game taking place on Dec. 30 at Saskatoon’s Merlis Belsher Place. The games will also be free to watch on Canada West TV with a link to donate.

The last game will be played on Jan. 9 in Winnipeg before the Ukrainian team travels to Lake Placid, N.Y., for the Winter University Games.