A Ukrainian girls香蕉视频直播� hockey team is in Canada for a few days of peace and hockey in an arena that doesn香蕉视频直播檛 have a missile-sized hole in its roof.

After a 56 hours of travel to Calgary, including a 24-hour bus ride from Dnipro to Warsaw, Poland, that required army escort for a portion of it, the Ukrainian Wings will join Wickfest, Hayley Wickenheiser香蕉视频直播檚 annual girls香蕉视频直播� hockey festival, on Thursday.

The squad of players aged 11 to 13 was drawn from eight different cities in Ukraine, where sport facilities have been damaged or destroyed since Russia started its invasion in February 2022.

香蕉视频直播淭hey all have a personal story of something awful happening,香蕉视频直播� said Wickenheiser. 香蕉视频直播淲e give them a week of peace and joy here and I hope they can carry that with them.

香蕉视频直播淲e know full well they香蕉视频直播檙e going back to difficult circumstances. It香蕉视频直播檚 tough that way.香蕉视频直播�

Nine players are from Kharkiv, where pictures show a large hole in the roof of the Saltovskiy Led arena where the girls香蕉视频直播� team WHC Panthers once skated.

香蕉视频直播淚t was our home ice arena, and we played all our national team championships in this ice arena,香蕉视频直播� said Kateryna Seredenko, who oversees the Panthers program and is the Wings general manager.

Ukraine香蕉视频直播檚 Olympic Committee posted photos and wrote in a Facebook post Sept. 1 that Kharkiv香蕉视频直播檚 Sport Palace, which was home to multiple hockey teams, was also destroyed in an attack on the city.

Seredenko says the Wings香蕉视频直播� arduous journey to Calgary was worth it because it gives the girls hope.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 not a good situation in Ukraine, but when they come here, they can believe that everything will be good, everything will be fine, of course we will win soon and we must play hockey. We can香蕉视频直播檛 stop because we love these girls and we will do everything for them,香蕉视频直播� she said.

香蕉视频直播淪o many girls on this Ukrainian team are future players of the national team.香蕉视频直播�

Wickenheiser, a Hockey Hall of Famer, is the assistant general manager of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs and a doctor who works emergency-room shifts in the Toronto area.

The six-time Olympian and four-time gold medallist organized her first Wickfest after the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.

She香蕉视频直播檚 had teams from India, Mexico and Czechia attend over the last decade and a half, but never a team that ran the Ukrainians香蕉视频直播� gauntlet of logistics.

The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children香蕉视频直播檚 Health took on the task of arranging visas and paying for the team香蕉视频直播檚 travel.

香蕉视频直播淲e care about women and children香蕉视频直播檚 health. Sport is such a symbol. When you see a group of girls coming off the ice all sweaty and having worked hard on the ice, it香蕉视频直播檚 a symbol of a healthy girl,香蕉视频直播� said chief executive officer Julia Anderson.

香蕉视频直播淭hat香蕉视频直播檚 a healthy kid that香蕉视频直播檚 able to participate in sport. We really believe if we can get girls there, whether they香蕉视频直播檙e in an active war zone, or here in Canada, those girls will change the world.香蕉视频直播�

The Wings aren香蕉视频直播檛 the first Ukrainians to seek a hockey haven in Canada since the war began.

An under-25 men香蕉视频直播檚 team played four games against university squads in early 2023 to prepare for that year香蕉视频直播檚 world university games.

Ukrainian teams have also twice played in the Quebec City International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 the first time in Ukrainian history where a girls香蕉视频直播� team is coming to Canada to a very good tournament,香蕉视频直播� Seredenko said. 香蕉视频直播淭hey can see how they can play in their future. And they can see how it is to play hockey in Canada.香蕉视频直播�