A Ukrainian girls91裸聊视频� hockey team is in Canada for a few days of peace and hockey in an arena that doesn91裸聊视频檛 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 Wickenheiser91裸聊视频檚 annual girls91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淭hey all have a personal story of something awful happening,91裸聊视频� said Wickenheiser. 91裸聊视频淲e give them a week of peace and joy here and I hope they can carry that with them.

91裸聊视频淲e know full well they91裸聊视频檙e going back to difficult circumstances. It91裸聊视频檚 tough that way.91裸聊视频�

Nine players are from Kharkiv, where pictures show a large hole in the roof of the Saltovskiy Led arena where the girls91裸聊视频� team WHC Panthers once skated.

91裸聊视频淚t was our home ice arena, and we played all our national team championships in this ice arena,91裸聊视频� said Kateryna Seredenko, who oversees the Panthers program and is the Wings general manager.

Ukraine91裸聊视频檚 Olympic Committee posted photos and wrote in a Facebook post Sept. 1 that Kharkiv91裸聊视频檚 Sport Palace, which was home to multiple hockey teams, was also destroyed in an attack on the city.

Seredenko says the Wings91裸聊视频� arduous journey to Calgary was worth it because it gives the girls hope.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 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 can91裸聊视频檛 stop because we love these girls and we will do everything for them,91裸聊视频� she said.

91裸聊视频淪o many girls on this Ukrainian team are future players of the national team.91裸聊视频�

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.

She91裸聊视频檚 had teams from India, Mexico and Czechia attend over the last decade and a half, but never a team that ran the Ukrainians91裸聊视频� gauntlet of logistics.

The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children91裸聊视频檚 Health took on the task of arranging visas and paying for the team91裸聊视频檚 travel.

91裸聊视频淲e care about women and children91裸聊视频檚 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, it91裸聊视频檚 a symbol of a healthy girl,91裸聊视频� said chief executive officer Julia Anderson.

91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 a healthy kid that91裸聊视频檚 able to participate in sport. We really believe if we can get girls there, whether they91裸聊视频檙e in an active war zone, or here in Canada, those girls will change the world.91裸聊视频�

The Wings aren91裸聊视频檛 the first Ukrainians to seek a hockey haven in Canada since the war began.

An under-25 men91裸聊视频檚 team played four games against university squads in early 2023 to prepare for that year91裸聊视频檚 world university games.

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

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 the first time in Ukrainian history where a girls91裸聊视频� team is coming to Canada to a very good tournament,91裸聊视频� Seredenko said. 91裸聊视频淭hey can see how they can play in their future. And they can see how it is to play hockey in Canada.91裸聊视频�