Young Ukrainian goalkeeper Matvii Kulish was training on the ice of the Kyiv Palace of Sports when a loud siren sounded. And that didn’t mean the practice was over.
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Kulish and all the other hockey players he shared the rink with only had time to remove their skates before descending to the arena’s basement with all the remaining gear on their backs to wait for the bomb alert to be lifted.
This is the reality of many Team Ukraine Select players who have been training at the Université Laval PEPS for two days while waiting for their first game at the Tournoi International de Hockey Pee-Wee de Québec on February 11 at 11:45 am.
While several of his teammates have fled to other countries in Europe and even Canada, Kulish and his family have stayed in Ukraine. He and his mother tried to settle in France for a few months, but despite the war, the call to go home was too strong.
Sirens and bombings have therefore become part of his everyday life.
“The sirens often go off at night, around 4 or 5 in the morning. It is therefore necessary to get up quickly and run to the corridor of the building, since the walls are thicker. It’s stressful and scary. It feels good not to hear them here anymore,” Kulish said during a touching interview with Le Journal on Friday, made possible thanks to Quebecer Sean Bérubé, who generously agreed to do the interpreting.
HIS FATHER FRONT
Young Matvii, like thousands of young Ukrainians, is bereft of his father, who left to defend the freedom of his homeland.
At the moment, Andrii Kulish is in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and the goalkeeper is dripping messages from his father.
“We talk to each other through the Telegram application. I write to him about it, but he only answers when he can. Sometimes we don’t hear from you for four days. It’s really stressful. »
However, he was able to tell her that he would be entering the Pee-Wee tournament.
“He was really proud of me. He told me he wanted me to play well, but most of all to represent Ukraine proudly and do it in the image of the people with heart and courage. It’s a great opportunity for me to be here at the Peewee Tournament and I take it very seriously. »
ESCAPE FOR CHILDREN
For his part, the assistant coach of the Ukrainian team, Andrei Lupandin, together with his wife Antonina, made the decision to leave Ukraine in favor of their two sons Denys and Ilya.
The one who was part of the famous Druzhba 78 team during the 1993 Pee-Wee tournament was living in Kharkiv when the war broke out.
“We heard rumors but we never thought it would happen. When war was declared it was a big surprise. The hardest part was watching your kids get scared every time it exploded near us, every time we had to run to the basement to hide. It’s the worst experience I’ve had. Seeing your children are scared and unable to do anything for them is the worst thing a person can experience. »
Three weeks after the war began, Lupandin and his family left for Diepr in the northwest, where they stayed with friends.
They then went to Slovakia and waited six months before receiving their refugee visas from the Canadian government. As of January 20, they live in Warman, Saskatchewan.
“It was the best decision for our children. If we hadn’t had them, we might never have left Kharkiv. Now they have a better chance of having a good life. »
From Druzhba 78 to Team Ukraine Select
Photo Didier Debusschere
In 1992, Andrei Lupandin helped the Kharkov Druzhba 78 team win the Peewee tournament and received the competition’s Most Valuable Player award.
A little over 30 years ago, another Ukrainian team made headlines at the Peewee tournament, but for very different reasons than this year, and Andrei Lupandin sat in the front row.
To date, the Kharkov Druzhba 78 formation is perhaps the one that has most marked the history of the pee-wee tournament. These young Ukrainians, very talented and led by an almost tyrannical coach in Ivan Pravilov, had landed in Quebec with outdated equipment and the Quebecers had rallied to provide them with up-to-date equipment.
In this formation, some players have prevailed in the NHL, including Dainius Zubrus and Andrei Zyuzin. But their best player was Lupandin.
“I will always remember our first game. We had arrived and the Colosseum was full. I think we won 5-1 or 6-1 but our coach was mad because he thought we played badly! We had equipment, but we have to go back to USSR times. We were not protected at all! People were so good to us,” he recalls.
WITH HIS SON
Despite his talent, Lupandin never managed to play in the NHL save for a preseason game with the Edmonton Oilers, but he did spend nine years in North American professional hockey.
His best memory remains winning the Pee-Wee tournament in 1992 and this year his youngest son Denys will have the opportunity to experience the tournament as he is part of Team Ukraine Select.
“I was a junior hockey coach in Ukraine before immigrating to Saskatchewan as a refugee and I’ve always told young people it was the best experience I’ve had. Ever since my son was born and got on the skates for the first time, I hope he gets a chance to participate and here we are. I want him to remember it like me in 30 years,” reveals the man who will serve as assistant to coach Yevgeny Pysarenko.
THE HOCKEY CAPITAL
The young Ukrainians have been enjoying themselves on Quebec soil for the past two days and continue to prepare for their first game on February 11th. This day is also likely to be very emotional and the Videotron Center is already expected to be full.
“Our children, for them, all know about the tournament, but not all have the chance to come. You wait years for this chance. To play against Canadian teams. Come and see the capital of ice hockey. Everyone knows Canada is the heart of hockey. It’s their national league. At this point, there is nothing bigger for them than this tournament,” he said.