The 11 and 12 year olds of the Ukrainian team, displaced by the war in their country, were able to rub shoulders with no other club than the famous Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
For the Habs, it was an opportunity to personally welcome this group which has accumulated victories at the Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec.
Ukraine beat Romania’s Wolves 2-0 on Monday, coming within three victories of contesting the AA Championship on Sunday.
Shortly after the victory, the players learned that they would be traveling to Montreal as special guests for the game against Chicago on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
Ukrainian players and coaches were also able to spend Tuesday morning watching Sainte-Flanelle training.
After practice, coach Martin St. Louis told reporters that his dad “skipped the Habs game to watch the Ukrainians” win 3-1 against the Boston Bruins Juniors last Saturday.
St. Louis also had the opportunity to chat with Ukraine’s coaches, who shared their experience and progress in the tournament.
“You can’t imagine what they’re going through as a country right now,” St-Louis said. And as normal childhood experiences in a sport, there is no better place for it than the Quebec pee-wee tournament. »
“I know they are well received, not only by Quebec City, but by all hockey fans in Quebec,” he continued.
“It’s a great human gesture that we can do for them. I’m really happy to have met them and to give them a moment where they can forget the difficult circumstances they went through in their country. »
The Ukrainian selection was able to meet St-Louis and CH players after training, for photos and autographs. They also received their own Canadiens jerseys as a gift.
“Here you can sleep without worries and there you don’t know if a bomb is going to fall nearby, so it’s hard to put yourself in their shoes,” said Canadiens forward Alex Belzile.
“We were happy to see them. The guys waved at them, threw a few pucks at them, anything to make them smile. They’re kids, so I think it’s good for them to clear their heads and put a smile on their face. »
“I always wonder if it’s really going to make a difference for them and I think the answer is yes,” added defenseman Mike Matheson. If you can just take a couple of minutes and maybe help them think of something else, hopefully that can help them. Just talk to them. »
Ukraine will play again on Friday morning against the Vermont Flames.