Kyiv, Ukraine | After a good year 2022 difficult, the professional players are back on the ice. And this, even if the challenges remain considerable for local hockey.
Yevgeni Govorushko will never forget the day of February 24, 2022. On that day, the 23-year-old left winger saw a Russian missile fly through his window in the direction of Donetsk.
“At that moment, I understood that the war was beginning. I was no longer thinking about hockey, I was thinking about something else, ”he admits modestly in impeccable English, a memory of several years spent in development leagues in the United States.
It must be said that the city of Kramatorsk, located in the Donbass region, was heavily affected by Russian bombing. Half the city is now in ruins.
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However, after 8 months of stoppage, professional hockey in Ukraine was finally able to resume on October 6, 2022. And for Yevgeni, this news had the effect of a breath of fresh air.
“Today, hockey helps us, the players, but also the population, to see that here, in Ukraine, we continue to live. The war did not destroy us mentally”, explains the one who now dreams of returning to play in the United States, “when the war is over”.
Poor infrastructure
This season, the local championship brings together six teams, which evolve in three cities of the country and which meet several times before the playoffs.
When passing from 24 hours in Kyiv, Yevgeni’s new team, Sokil, welcomed another team from the capital, HC Kyiv, to the Sports Palace.
A simple professional hockey game? Not really, as Ukrainian hockey has experienced many difficulties since the start of the Russian invasion, almost a year ago. Seeing it come back to life today is therefore not trivial. It’s even a small feat.
Because playing hockey in wartime is not easy at all.
In the event of a bombing alert, for example, matches are stopped and even postponed if the threats persist. But that’s not really the biggest difficulty.
Because the most problematic today for Ukrainian hockey is the advanced state of destruction of infrastructure.
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“Here in Kyiv we only have three arenas. For a big city like that, it’s clearly not enough”, laments the coach of the Sokil Kyiv team, Konstantin Simchuk, who also runs the local hockey school in addition to assisting the coach of the ‘National team.
“Many arenas were located in Donetsk and its region (which is one of the most affected by the Russian strikes, Ed). Nearly 80% of arenas in the country are now destroyed.
Photo Mathieu Carbasse
To the lack of infrastructure is added that of the lack of players. It is estimated that 200 top athletes are currently on the front line. And among them, several professional hockey players.
“Before the war, there were many players who came from abroad. From now on, we have to rely only on Ukrainian players, ”says Konstantin Simchuk, who spent his career as a goalkeeper between American minor leagues and the Russian professional league.
And this lack of players also concerns the youngest of them.
“A year ago, the hockey school had about 450 children, he regrets. After Russia invaded Ukraine, many families left the country. Today, we have only 150 children in our school.”
A crying need for funding
What does Ukrainian hockey need now to be able to function in a sustainable way?
“We need help for young people and for our hockey schools. We need help to support our competitions, to renovate the arenas. But despite everything, Ukrainian hockey is still alive!”, explains the president of the Ukrainian Hockey Federation, Georgii Zubko, whose voice sounds like Volodymyr Zelensky.
“If we talk about money, we have already received more than US$1 million in donations. Unfortunately, this is not enough, he adds. We would need $2 million a year for our operations. And I’m not even talking about the renovation of arenas and infrastructure.
Photo Mathieu Carbasse
To help finance the revival of hockey in Ukraine, Georgii Zubko created the Save ukrainian hockey dream foundation. This organization collects all kinds of donations, “$5 or $10 for individuals, but also $150,000 for large companies that want to contribute”.
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One thing is certain, according to him: without foreign support, Ukrainian hockey would not be able to function sustainably. At least, as long as the war rages in the country.
“We are very grateful for every post on Facebook, for every dollar donated, for any form of support for Ukrainian players,” concludes the president of the Ukrainian Hockey Federation.
For the record, it was Sokil’s team that won that night, with a score of 4 to 1. Sokil, who acted as favorites for the title this year, with two other teams: Dnipro Kherson and Kremenchuk.
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This report was produced with the financial support of the Fonds québécois en journalisme international.
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