Nick Suzuki comforts a Ukrainian peewee whose father died during the Russian invasion

DAY

For a moment, this meeting between a young player from Ukraine and Nick Suzuki will have, as much as possible, alleviated a terrible tragedy: that of having lost his father in the war . 

Yehor Kosenko, whose father died during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, took advantage of his team's visit to the Bell Center yesterday to share a precious moment with the captain of the Canadiens.

“I have no words to describe how excited I was to meet Nick Suzuki, testified the hockey player, still with bright eyes. It's really exciting to be here and it was interesting to see the players in training this morning. »

Aware of the tragedy that afflicted the young Kosenko, Suzuki naturally took care to offer him his most sincere condolences and to say a few words of encouragement. They then took a picture together.

'Dad would be proud of me'

Kosenko smiled. Undoubtedly, the current journey of Ukrainian hockey players, on the sidelines of the Tournoi pee-wee de Québec, comes to put a balm in the heart of these young people affected by the war. However, he does not erase everything.

Through coach Yegueniy Pysarenko, who served as an interpreter, the young Kosenko agreed to speak briefly to the Journal of his situation in order to pay tribute to his father. 

“It's hard for me to think of him, but I know dad would be proud of me,” he said. eyes filled with water and the throat knotted by the emotion. I consider myself really lucky to be part of this trip to Canada. »

“Impressive”

Kosenko believes that his finest moment so far in Quebec surrounds the victory of the Ukrainian team in its first match of the tournament, Saturday, in a Videotron Center full. It was Kosenko who scored the first goal for his team, to the applause of the crowd, in a 3-1 win against a team from Boston.

“There were several people and we felt the support of the people, described Kosenko. It was overwhelming, but it felt good. »

“It's a fantastic experience, with so many teams from all over the world”, summed up the one who wears number 10, about the Quebec tournament.

The war continues

After morning practice, the Ukraine team attended the game between the Canadiens and the Chicago Blackhawks in the evening. < /p>

Another experience to offer beautiful moments. Another experience that, however, was not going to completely forget everything else. 

Because meanwhile there are still two other players on the team with a father involved in the conflict against Russia. This is the case for little Mykyta Staskevich, whose dad, in his soldier's uniform, sent a video to the young people to encourage them from a distance.

“It's heart warming to see this team, for his part reacted the head coach of the Canadian, Martin St-Louis, who also posed with the young people, in the morning. My father was at their first game on Saturday [in Quebec]. He missed the Canadian game to see Ukraine. They won and also won their second match. 

“You can't imagine what a country they are going through,” added St-Louis. Young people have the chance to live a normal experience in a sport, as young people should live. These are times to forget their reality. »

– With the collaboration of Jean-François Chaumont and Rodger Brulotte