UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE (02/17/02)

UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE

by Ihor Stelmach

2001 Minor league recap shows 122 of Ukrainian descent

Some 122 pucksters of Ukrainian origin earned their living in professional hockey's seven minor league circuits last season. Twelve of them were fortunate enough to also see action with their parent NHL clubs, either as promotions for jobs well done or to replace a vacant roster slot, usually due to injury. Seventeen players skated in two different leagues.

Breaking down the Ukes by position, there were 11 goaltenders, 38 defensemen and 73 forwards. Of the 73 forwards, 30 skated on left wing, 22 on the right side and 21 down the middle.

Greg, Jeff and Sergei tied for most popular name for Ukrainians in the minors with five each. The five Sergeis graphically underline the continued influx of Ukraine-born players to North America. Mike and Mark were next with four each, followed by Alex, Dimitri and Steve with three.

There were four sets of brothers in the Ukrainian minor league ranks: David and Mikhail Nemirovsky, Jeff and Ryan Pawluk and Jody and Tobin Praznik. Oh, and there were three Shmyrs: Dean, Jason and Ryan. It's a family sport with major sibling rivalry!

As for league breakdowns, 20 players of Ukrainian descent were found in hockey's top minor league circuit, the American Hockey League. Seventeen Ukes graced the rosters of the now defunct International Hockey League, while 19 worked on rinks in the East Coast League. The United League saw 23, while another 10 found employment in the ranks of the West Coast League. The Western Pro League (15) went on to merge with the Central League (18) heading into the current 2001-2002 campaign. Industry consolidation!

Top minor league Ukrainian goal-scorers were Peter Ambroziak/ Christian Skoryna (39), Jason Duda (38) and Jarred Dumka (36). Assist leaders included Brent Gretzky (66), Jay Mazur (60) and Duda (52). The top three scorers were Duda (90), Mazur (83) and Skoryna/Gretzky (82). Marty Melnychuk was the most penalized Uke (437 minutes), ahead of Brad Domonsky (411) and Garry Gulash (386). Among Ukrainian goalies, Jeff Salajko was tops in all netminding's major categories: games (58), wins (28), minutes (3,398) goals against (2.69) and save percentage (.921).

From Maine (Portland) to Alaska (Anchorage), the roster of minor league Ukrainian hockey stars spans the full alphabet: from A (Alex Alexeev) to Z (Jarret Zukiwsky). There truly is a team and a player for every Ukrainian hockey fan. For the religious fans (Metropolt and Boh), tall fans (Dowhy), the budget conscious (Deshevyy), food gourmets (Gulash), thrifty domestic types (Szmata) and even for those Ukrainian party animals (Zabawa).

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