Andriy Maslov was a bit shaky on his blades and greater than twice the age of the opposite gamers practising at TD Place Arena on Tuesday morning, however the broad grin behind the cage of his hockey helmet mentioned all of it.
“I really feel nice, implausible, I can’t even clarify what sort of emotion I’ve bought within the second,” Maslov gushed throughout a lull. “It’s unbelievable — I’m 44 years previous and my dream comes true.”
Maslov, his spouse Tatiana and their teenage son Igor fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine final April and arrived in Ottawa, the place elder son Alex is finding out at Carleton University. The household is from the Black Sea metropolis of Odesa, the place Maslov captained service provider vessels.
Maslov mentioned as a boy, he and his father beloved watching the Canadian, American and Soviet hockey stars face off on TV. He and his pals performed street hockey, however there have been no ice amenities the place he grew up.
Until Tuesday, he’d by no means even been on skates.
“All of a sudden I’m in the midst of Canada, and that is the motherland of ice hockey,” Maslov mentioned. “I nonetheless cannot consider my eyes, what I’m doing in the mean time.”
Maslov, proper, with 67’s director of participant growth Evan Brownrigg. (Jonathan Jobin/Radio-Canada)
Realtor bought the puck rolling
Since arriving within the capital, the household has relied on the kindness of strangers like realtor Peggy Blair, who has helped match some 200 newcomers from Ukraine with host households in Ottawa.
When she discovered final yr that Maslov and his household wanted furnishings for his or her rented house, Blair issued an enchantment on Twitter. “Literally inside six hours we had his place furnished prime to backside,” she advised CBC on Tuesday.
Similarly, when Maslov talked about his lifelong dream of enjoying hockey, Blair put the phrase out on social media. That grabbed the eye of Janice Barresi, government director of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group’s charitable basis, who handed it on to Marc St. Pierre, OSEG’s director of group relations.
Before lengthy, Maslov not solely had an invite to affix the 67’s on the ice at TD Place, however a full set of kit — together with one of many Ontario Hockey League workforce’s well-known barber pole jerseys.
“It actually was his dream,” mentioned Blair, who had simply obtained an electronic mail from Maslov thanking her for making it occur. “He was simply thrilled.”
A welcome distraction
Maslov in all probability will not obtain a suggestion to play for the league-leading workforce — for one factor, he is missed the age cutoff by a pair many years. But for a first-timer, he placed on a powerful efficiency.
“He picked it up fairly fast, truly. I used to be impressed,” mentioned Evan Brownrigg, the workforce’s director of participant growth, who paired Maslov with defenceman Derek Smyth to work on his taking pictures abilities.
“It undoubtedly was a slower session than our regular stuff perhaps, nevertheless it was simply as gratifying.”
For Maslov, it was a welcome distraction from the scenario again house, the place the bloody battle has now entered its eleventh month and the place odd Ukrainians proceed to bear the brunt of Russia’s indiscriminate assaults on civilian infrastructure.
“We are 24/7 continuous watching the information, browsing the web, chasing what’s the scenario in Ukraine, and naturally this can be a actually good alternative to eliminate your [other] ideas and loosen up a bit bit,” Maslov mentioned.
While a few of his present hockey heroes occur to be Russian, Maslov mentioned he’d want to not point out their names.
“I do not need to say something. They’re nice hockey gamers, however not on this scenario,” he mentioned. “Hockey is only a sport and we now have to benefit from the hockey sport.”
