(Quebec) The Ukrainian team that will participate in the Quebec Peewee Hockey Tournament arrived in Quebec on Wednesday.
The plane aboard which were the young players of 11 and 12 years old landed in the afternoon in Montreal, then the team took the direction of Quebec by bus.
The team’s coach, Yevgeny Pysarenko, stressed that the presence of the Ukrainians at the legendary Quebec tournament was almost a “miracle”.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Young player Zahar Kovalenko carries his hockey equipment to the Videotron Center.
In the press scrum, he acknowledged that it will be difficult for players to forget the war in Ukraine, but he hopes they leave the tournament with lasting memories and the belief that anything is possible.
The improbable trip of the Ukrainian team required several months of effort on the part of the coach and a businessman from Quebec, who had to take care of visas and organize the travel of the players who were scattered all over Europe because of the conflict in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Pysarenko is also expecting to experience a moving moment when his team hits the ice at the Videotron Center for its first game on February 11.