Two players lived under Russian occupation in Kherson, others had to flee their country altogether and most of them saw their father going into battle to defend their freedom: the presence of the Ukrainian team at the next Tournament international de hockey pee- wee de Québec goes far beyond sports in just a few weeks.
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Sean Bérubé breathed a sigh of relief when the tournament announced on January 20 that the 18 players of the Ukraine team and the coaches had received their visas and would officially take part in the competition.
The story began in March 2022. From home, the resident of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, like the whole world, watched the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a country dear to him and where he played hockey in between had 14 and 17 years old.
“When I played there I was received by my coach Volodymyr Razin and his wife Valentyna. They had just lost their only son and were left with no one to take care of them. In March 2022, when the Russian tanks were about 15 km from Kyiv, I spoke to them and convinced them that it was my turn to host them. We had to find a way to get them out of the country,” says Mr. Bérubé.
The latter immediately begins the process, calling a former Ukrainian teammate, Yevgeny Pysarenko, who has lived in Romania for twenty years.
“The queues in Poland were endless. So I contacted him and he explained me where to get them and he helped me get them out of Ukraine via Romania. “.
A BEER THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
When the four refugees are alive and well, Bérubé and Pysarenko meet up for a beer in a Bucharest hotel.
“I told him I owed him a beer for his help. »
But Pysarenko has something else in mind.
“He told me he wanted me to help take a team to the pee-wee tournament. At first he thought more of a team from Romania, but I joked to him: “I just got out of refugees from Ukraine, why not a team of young Ukrainian refugees?” »
The idea doesn’t fall on deaf ears, and things plummet afterward.
Through numerous contacts in Ukraine and elsewhere, Pysarenko managed to find pee-aged Ukrainian players to take part in the tournament. However, the challenge is considerable as some of them have fled Ukraine, others are still there and their fathers are on the front lines, permits are difficult to obtain.
But they succeed with the help of Bérubé, the Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation and the organization of the Pee-Wee tournament.
FIRST CONTACT
During the first training camp, these young people had the opportunity to come together for the first time. For most of them, it was the first time they had put on skates since war broke out in Ukraine in February 2022.
Photo provided by Yevgeny Pysarenko
The youngsters could use the facilities of the Karcfalva ice rink in Romania to train their individual skills.
“It was so nice to see her smile,” recalled Pysarenko, who was contacted at his home in Romania on Tuesday night.
Photo provided by Yevgeny Pysarenko
Several young people donned their gear for the first time since war broke out in Ukraine in February 2022.
Another meeting is planned for January 28 in Romania. The Ukraine Team Select, as they’re known at the Pee-Wee tournament, are taking part in their final pre-camp before heading to Quebec City on February 1st.
Sean Bérubé will be there. In particular, he will be tasked with picking up four young Ukrainians, two of whom are from Kherson, a city that has been under Russian occupation for several months.
Photo provided by Yevgeny Pysarenko
Despite the situation in their country, young hockey players keep smiling.
“A mother told me that maybe we should get her in Ukraine near the border. There’s not much activity in that area, so we’ll see…”
Aside from the victories they’ve had at the tournament, the most important one will be when they settle down in Quebec in just under a week.
“Participation in this tournament was important for these young people even before the war,” admits Yevgeny Pysarenko. For them it’s like their World Cup. So many bad things are happening in our house right now. Some players’ fathers are fighting in Ukraine right now. Coming to Quebec is very important for these young people. What we want is to prove the character of Ukraine, that we are a strong people and that despite the war we can go on with our lives. »
A relationship that lasted 30 years
The relationship between Sean Bérubé and Ukraine is not new, but it is fascinating. From an early age he developed a fascination for Soviet ice hockey. He even jokes that his biggest dream wasn’t to play in the NHL, but to one day represent the Red Army!
Photo Kevin Dube
Since March 2022, Sean Bérubé has been welcoming his former coach Volodymyr Razin and his wife Valentyna to his home.
“I was a small player and didn’t fit into the North American style of hockey. Here it was a corridor game and it was played physically, while in Russia it looked like bees were flying on the ice. I stumbled! Everyone knew. People called me Berubov,” he laughs.
At 13, he dreamed of playing in the pee-wee tournament like all youngsters his age, but his team, the Loretteville Warriors, didn’t make it.
CLOSE CONNECTION
In an attempt to comfort him, his father had decided to take in young Ukrainian pee from Sokol in Kyiv.
They had then established connections with the Ukrainians.
“They invited me to practice with them and I even played an exhibition game before the tournament started. As they left, the team’s interpreter told my father that I was welcome if I wanted to play with them the following year. »
And that’s what he did: for the next three seasons he went to Ukraine with his father for a few months a year to fulfill his dream of playing “Soviet” style.
It was his father who homeschooled him with the help of his secondary school.
During his time in Ukraine he also had the opportunity to visit Russia. And the following anecdote is as tasty as it is representative of the changes that have taken place in 30 years.
“I dreamed of seeing Moscow and my host mother decided to take me there. However, I didn’t have a visa and my best friend’s Ukrainian passport had been stolen. We had arrived at the border in the evening and she didn’t want me to talk, so when the agents asked me questions she said I was mentally handicapped,” he says, laughing.
REGISTRATION
The links made in Ukraine are still very strong and the fact that they are now hosting their then coach proves it. But that’s not all.
“When I saw the list of players who would make up the Ukrainian team at the tournament, I recognized almost all the coaches of their respective teams. These are almost all former players who went through the Pee-Wee tournament in my day. This tournament in Ukraine is so important. »
And to help, he’s also teamed up with Saint-Patrick High School, where his son plays, so Ukrainians can set up their headquarters at Laval University’s PEPS, where St. Patrick’s hockey teams play, ahead of the start of the tournament.
In addition, a crowdfunding campaign was launched on the GoFundMe platform to cover the cost of this trip for the Ukraine team.
It can be found under the name “Ukrainian Hockey Players at the Quebec Tournament”.
