'It Was Not Just About Hockey,' Former NHLer And Ukraine National Team Coach Dmitri Khristich Discusses How Hockey Is Used As Inspiration

The Russia-Ukraine war has gone from the battlefield to the hockey rink.

Earlier this week, Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin appeared in a controversial propaganda video lending support for Russian president Vladimir Putin. On the Ukrainian side of the conflict is former NHLer Dmitri Khristich, a native of Kyiv who recently coached Ukraine's national hockey team and knows firsthand about the atrocities of war.

Unlike Ovechkin, who can escape the conflict from the comforts of his home in the United States, the 57-year-old Khristich has been experiencing the realities of daily air raids and not knowing when the next drone strike will hit, all while living in Ukraine. He's painfully watched as his players have been recruited into the army and swapped out their sticks and skates for guns and armoured vests in a senseless conflict that has taken far too many lives on both sides. 

This isn't a war of choice, Khristich told The Hockey News in a 1-on-1 exclusive interview. For the Ukrainian people, it's survival.

From the resilience of his countrymen to the relief that hockey has brought a nation under siege, Khristich spoke about how everything changed when Russia invaded his country in 2022. And how, after more than four years of conflict, the killing must come to a peaceful end.

(This interview has been edited for clarity and length)

The Hockey News: How difficult has it been for you since this war began? And what types of inspirational things have you seen from Ukrainians as they shield themselves from Russian aggression?

Dmitri Khristich: The war has been extremely difficult for every Ukrainian and for me personally, because Ukraine is not simply the country where I was born and where I started my hockey career. It became an even more important part of my life during the most difficult time in its history. I became the head coach of the national team during one of the most difficult periods for the development of the country and, of course, for hockey in my country. And being the national team coach carries a very special responsibility during times like these.

But I think what has affected me most is seeing how ordinary Ukrainians have responded to something completely extraordinary. People have had their homes destroyed, families separated, businesses interrupted, and their lives turned upside down. And yet they continue to work, to help each other, to volunteer, to defend their country, and to believe in Ukraine's future.

I have seen incredible courage from people who never thought of themselves as heroes. Soldiers are defending the country, but so are doctors, teachers, volunteers, entrepreneurs, athletes, and the parents of young hockey players who simply continue living and supporting their communities despite everything happening around them.

As a hockey person, I saw the same spirit in our players. I saw how difficult it was for them to concentrate, because they and their families were living with air raids, shelling, and constant uncertainty. Some players had to serve in the military. Some suffered severe injuries, and many young Ukrainians lost their lives.

But when our players put on the Ukrainian jersey, they understood they were representing something much bigger than themselves. They were representing their families, their friends, the people back home, and the entire nation.

That is why the role of the national team coach during a war is much more than coaching hockey. You are responsible not only for preparing players to compete. You also have to help them find the strength, motivation, and belief to represent their country at a time when the country needs them most.

THN: Many look at professional sports as an escape from the ups and downs of everyday life. But sports is also a great unifying force for a country, and I'm sure that's what your hockey team does for Ukraine. How have you seen hockey's role in these troubling times?

DK: Before the war, you could think about hockey simply as a competition: who wins, who loses, who scores. But during the war, the Ukrainian national team became one of the ways Ukrainians could see their country continuing to live, compete, and represent itself internationally.

The biggest challenge for us was that we were trying to build a competitive national team under completely abnormal circumstances. Our domestic hockey structure was disrupted by the war. Games of the national championship were sometimes stopped because of bombing and shelling. Players had limited opportunities to train and develop, and some players were called into military service, as I mentioned before. 

For example, our national team goalkeeper Eduard Zakharchenko, who played more than 40 games for Ukraine, was recruited into the army. This is not a single unique case. At the same time, we were competing against countries with much greater financial resources, better facilities, and much deeper player pools. So we couldn't prepare as if everything was normal. We had to find another way.

My job as coach was not only to prepare the team tactically or improve the players' physical condition for games. I also had to understand what players were experiencing as human beings. You cannot coach Ukrainian players during a war in exactly the same way you coach a team in normal circumstances. 

(Sports) gives people a chance to come together around something positive, even in the hardest circumstances and the darkest moments. For our players, for the future hockey generation, and for all Ukrainians watching them, it was not just about hockey. It was a reminder that Ukraine was still here, still competing, still moving forward.

THN: Many players want to stay out of politics, but you have no choice in Ukraine to address it as part of your daily existence. Is there something you'd say to NHL players to give them a sense of how important it is to speak out?

DK: If you are a Ukrainian citizen or somehow connected with Ukraine, you cannot be outside the discussion. But I understand why some athletes prefer to stay out of politics. Athletes have to play for their clubs and perform good hockey as the main reason why they signed contracts, and they don't necessarily want to become political figures. But in Ukraine, there is really no way to separate business or everyday life from the war.

When your country is being attacked, when your teammates' families are living under air raids, when players are serving in the military or even have lost their lives, this is no longer an abstract political issue. It is your life that forms your position. 

There are players of previous generations who voluntarily joined the armed forces to defend Ukraine. For example, the Ukrainian hockey community knows Oleksandr Matviychuk, who was a player on the Ukrainian national team and got severe injuries to his face on the front line. The exploits of our heroes have already become examples of our great modern history. 

So I would not tell NHL players what political position they have to take. I would simply ask them to understand what is happening regarding this inhuman aggression. That kind of human connection can be incredibly powerful … for Ukrainians, knowing that NHL players and the international hockey community see them, understand them, and stand with them means a lot. You don't have to be a politician to be a human being.

THN: Can you give me a sense of what a typical day now is for yourself and your fellow Ukrainians? I want readers to come to terms with how frightening it must be to wake up every day and worry about not surviving this awful war. 

DK: There is no completely typical day in Ukraine anymore, because you never know what the next day or even the next hour will bring. People have awful conditions in the most devastating war since World War II right in their cities. You listen for air-raid alerts. You know that missiles and drones threaten cities every night. You think about your family, your children, and friends. You worry a lot about people who are serving in the military.

In the 21st century, children should not know what an air-raid siren means. A talented hockey player should not have to think about whether he or his teammate has been called into military service. Families should not have to plan their lives around missile attacks. 

But Ukrainians continue. They continue working. They continue playing hockey. They continue educating their children. They continue building businesses. They continue helping the army and helping each other. 

That is what I would want readers to understand. Ukrainian resilience isn't something dramatic that happens only on the battlefield. It is happening every day, in millions of small decisions by ordinary people who refuse to stop living.

And that is why I believe the Ukrainian people are heroes – not because they are not afraid, but because they continue moving forward despite all circumstances.

THN: What is important for you now that you've chosen to step down as Ukraine's coach?

DK: It was an extremely important chapter of my life and my hockey career. I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish under incredibly difficult circumstances, bringing the team back to the Elite Division and giving Ukrainians some happy moments during an extremely difficult time. 

This was extremely difficult to achieve. If you asked hockey experts four years ago, when I started working with the national team, they probably would have considered it almost impossible. They understood the situation in different hockey countries, including their financial resources, infrastructure, and player development systems. We started two divisions below the Elite level and climbed, step by step, from the bottom to the top. 

Doing that under the circumstances Ukraine was facing made the achievement even more remarkable. But I don't see (leaving as Ukraine’s coach) as the end of my involvement with Ukrainian hockey or hockey in general. I see it as the beginning of a new stage. 

I believe my role now can be broader than simply being behind the bench. 

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