Global Courant
Breadcrumb Trail Links
PMN Sports PMN News PMN Hockey PMN Canada
Author of the article:
The Canadian Press
Sidhartha Banerjee
Published July 24, 2023 • read for 3 minutes
Players and coaches of Ukrainian peewee hockey teams pose for a group photo when they arrive at the Vidéotron Center in Quebec City on Wednesday, February 1, 2023. Six teens who came to Quebec City earlier this year as part of a Ukrainian team to play in the city’s famous peewee hockey tournament will return next month to attend school in the provincial capital. Photo by Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press
Article content
MONTREAL — Six Ukrainian children who took part in Quebec City’s famed peewee hockey tournament earlier this year will return to the provincial capital next month to live and attend school in the province.
Advertisement 2
This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS
Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.
Exclusive articles from Conrad Black, Barbara Kay, Rex Murphy and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post and 15 news sites with one account. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that can be viewed, shared, and commented on on any device. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times crossword. Support local journalism.
SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES
Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.
Exclusive articles from Conrad Black, Barbara Kay, Rex Murphy and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events Unlimited online access to National Post and 15 news sites with one account. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that can be viewed, shared, and commented on on any device. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times crossword. Support local journalism.
REGISTER FOR MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles every month. Receive email updates from your favorite authors.
Article content
The players were part of a team of 11- and 12-year-old Ukrainian refugees who were showered with attention at the annual Quebec International Peewee Hockey Tournament in February.
Article content
One of the organizers who helped bring the team to Quebec City last winter said the six had expressed a desire to stay in the province at the time, but had to return home due to visa requirements.
“Pretty much on the last day they were in Quebec… there were some kids asking their host families if it would be possible for them to stay in Quebec and play hockey and go to school,” said Sean Berube, a businessman from Quebec City.
“We talked to those guys and I said it was better for them to go back, to comply with the immigration rules, but I would do our very best to find them a school.”
Ad 3
This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Berube said Monday the boys have been granted visas to attend classes and play hockey at the city’s English-language St. Patrick’s High School.
“We’re actually pretty lucky that all six of them are in the same school and play for the same team,” Berube said in an interview from Europe.
The kids were celebrated earlier this year, playing to a sold-out crowd at the Videotron Center and taking part in a host of activities, including a Montreal Canadiens practice and an NHL game.
“Since the day they went back, they talk almost daily about Quebec and their experiences with their parents in Ukraine,” Berube said.
But they have been warned that this time will be very different.
“Before this trip, I said to those guys, ‘Hey, you’re going to come over now and it’s getting serious,'” Berube said. “They come here to be like regular kids from Quebec, go to school, play hockey, and try to have a normal childhood.”
Ad 4
This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Berube said one of the players will have his mother with him, while the five others will live with the bat families that housed them during the tournament.
The children come from Kiev, Dnipro and Odessa and have experienced war. Berube recalled talking to one of the mothers about the Quebec option on the same day their Dnipro apartment burned down after a nearby air raid.
Of the six players, one has already lost a father in the war and at least two others have active duty fathers and only rarely see them when they have breaks from the front, he said.
It’s not certain how long they can stay in Quebec, but Berube is hopeful it will last beyond the next school year.
What started as Berube’s personal mission has also grown into a community effort.
Ad 5
This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
A group of volunteers started a non-profit organization to help fund the Ukrainian students who went to Quebec City to attend school. They named the organization Mission Druzhba in honor of the Druzbha-78 team that played in the tournament in 1992.
Olivier Hubert-Benoit, a Quebec City father of three who now works with Berube on the nonprofit, got involved last February as soon as he heard the team was coming. He housed two of the players last winter and one of the six will move in with him when he arrives at the end of August.
“Even before the peewee tournament, when war hit Ukraine, my wife and I had considered helping in some way,” said Hubert-Benoit. “We are happy to take action and help alleviate some of the suffering.”
In addition to helping offset some of the students’ costs, Hubert-Benoit said, the nonprofit also raises money to help another Ukraine-based team dream about the annual peewee tournament.
For his part, Berube looks forward to seeing the children again and welcomes the support of the community.
“I had four weeks of very high, very intense emotions with them and into February, so I got really attached to them and I want to see them again,” Berube said. “But also, now I’m not alone in all this.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 24, 2023.
Article content
Share this article on your social network
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a vibrant yet civilized forum for discussion and encourages all readers to share their thoughts on our articles. It can take up to an hour for comments to appear on the site. We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful. We’ve enabled email notifications: you will now receive an email when you receive a reply to your comment, when there’s an update to a comment thread you follow, or when a user you follow makes a comment. For more information and details on customizing your email settings, visit our Community Guidelines.
