After detour, NHL players' gear makes it to kids in war-torn Ukrainian city
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It took quadruple overtime to arrive, but a batch of kids' hockey gear sent by NHL players has showed up at a Calgary-based charity in a heavily-bombed Ukrainian city.
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The package of sticks, gloves and jerseys was picked up Tuesday by a grateful Paul Hughes, who operates Helping Ukraine-Grassroots Support (HUGS) in Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city that lies 30 km from Russian troops' positions.
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A white Team Canada jersey included in the shipment has already been signed by soldiers – both Ukrainian and foreign legion members – who've been fighting Russian forces.
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'It's quite a nice little package from these guys,' said Hughes, referring to the National Hockey League Players Association NHLPA) who made the donation.
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'It'll expand our program – we can do more (street) hockey.'
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Among a number of tasks, HUGS operates children's programs ranging from sports to music to art and tech. A facility in Kharkiv catering to those activities was destroyed in a Russian drone attack last February but the charity has since found a new location.
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Arranging the gift from the NHLPA was begun by Calgary ex-pat Bruce Callow, who has connections with the organization after helping coordinate other hockey donations to his current home in Costa Rica.
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The idea for the Ukraine donation began a year ago, said Callow, and was originally intended for an orphanage in Lviv the country's west.
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'As it turned out, the orphanage didn't have the logistics to receive it, it got held up in a customs warehouse and they shipped it by boat,' he said.
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'(The NHLPA) people were terrific and really patient…I'm hoping they can get a cease-fire going so the kids can play outside in some kind of peace.'
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The equipment was diverted to HUGS in Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast and finally arrived four months after being first shipped, said Hughes, who can often be seen doing aid work clad in Calgary Flames colors.
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It's a gift that reminds hard-pressed Ukrainians who've endured more than three years of full-on Russian invasion that they haven't been forgotten.
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