A year after a group of pre-teen Ukrainian hockey players became the darlings of the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, another team of children fleeing the Russian invasion is expected in the Old Capital this week .
In the winter of 2023, the Ukraine Select team made international media headlines and played in front of a sold-out Videotron Center. The young Ukrainians won two matches before their tournament run ended against an American team from Vermont.
Quebec businessman Sean Bérubé and a group of volunteers who organized Ukraine Select’s visit to Quebec don’t think this year’s team will receive the same reception, but he assures that the young players will also be excited to participate in this legendary hockey tournament. “The players on this year’s team are going through the same thing as last year’s team, they’re going through the same difficult times,” Mr. Bérubé said of the likelihood that the novelty will wear off.
“It will be an experience for them no matter what,” he added. “These children live in war and they will therefore be able to benefit, for a few weeks, from moments of peace. »
For Sean Bérubé, who played minor hockey when he was a teenager in Ukraine, helping attract young players to Quebec is a chance to give back. Last year, he searched across Europe for players seeking refuge from the war provoked by Russia.
This year, recruiting was much easier. “With the team’s performance last year and the fact that in Ukraine a lot of people were talking about it, it wasn’t very difficult.”
This year’s players have boarded coaches and been taken to Romania three times since September for training camp. “At first a lot of families, mothers and children went abroad as refugees and after about a year they started coming back and even though there is a war in Ukraine, they learn to live with”, according to what Mr. Bérubé observed.
But he points out that the experiences of young people are the same: players whose fathers were sent to the front or who died in combat. “We have players whose fathers are in the military; we have players who had to share their death certificate when I applied for a visa,” said Sean Bérubé.
If all goes well, the Ukrainian team should fly to Quebec on Friday.
The visa process was more complicated than last year because the federal government’s special permission for Ukrainians for emergency travel expired in July. Canadian officials based in Romania said travel documents would be available by Thursday, according to Mr. Bérubé.
The players will stay with host families and volunteers in Quebec.
Half a dozen Ukrainian kids from last year’s pee-wee team ended up returning to Quebec to attend an English-speaking high school and play hockey. Sean Bérubé noted that players living in Quebec are doing very well, that most have learned English and have acclimatized to their adopted country.
The Mission Druzhba foundation was also set up. She raises money and sells jerseys to ensure that a Ukrainian team can come every year during the war.
Patrick Dom, general director of the Quebec tournament which hosts teams of players aged 11 and 12, says last year’s Ukrainian team brought “the biggest buzz ever seen” to the city. “It’s going to be good this year, but we’re not going to relive last year and that’s normal. I think people are going to be extremely supportive of this team once again, but I don’t think we’ll see a crowded Videotron Center this year, even if we would like that. »
The 64e edition of the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament brings together 120 teams from 18 countries and will take place from February 7 to 18. The Ukrainian team is expected to play its first match on Sunday February 11.