UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE (12/18/05)

UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE

by Ihor Stelmach

Ruslan Fedotenko: a Kyivan in Tampa Bay

Ukrainian pro hockey star Ruslan Fedotenko was only 7 years old when the worst nuclear disaster in history happened not far away from his doorstep.

Having grown up in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Fedotenko and family lived some 70 miles south of Chornobyl. There, in April of 1986, a nuclear reactor accident unleashed a radiation wave that contaminated the now-abandoned town to its very core. Even today, Ukrainian health officials continue to estimate at least 3.5 million people have been affected by Chornobyl-related illnesses. Indeed, Fedotenko's own 29-year-old brother, Vitaly, who has endured bone and stomach problems for about 10 years, may be one of those victims.

The incidence of thyroid-related cancer in Chornobyl affected areas skyrocketed, especially among many who were young children at the time of the nuclear disaster. Today, Fedotenko has legitimate fears for his 5-year-old baby brother, David. "So far, David is healthy, thank God," the Tampa Bay Lightning left-winger told Mark Weisenmiller, Florida correspondent for Agence France-Presse.

Fedotenko, 26, is currently going through the procedures of attaining American citizenship. Once this arduous process is completed, he plans to permanently relocate his parents and brothers out of Chornobyl's dark shadows to the United States. "The sooner that all of them are here in America, the more comfortable I'll be, knowing that they are away from all of that," he said.

Firmly ensconced in his memory are those somber days when the name Chornobyl became synonymous with cancer and death.

"I was in what over here is called pre-kindergarten," Fedotenko related to Mr. Weisenmiller. "When it happened, we didn't even find out about it for two weeks because of government censorship. Even the firefighters who fought the fire (from the explosion) didn't fully understand what they were dealing with."

Preliminary media reports were incomplete, but today it is safe to presume at least 31 firefighters perished at the time of the original explosion, with countless more suffering subsequent ailments. "Once we found out about the accident, no evacuation could be done because Kyiv is a city of 4 million people, and how are you going to move 4 million people quickly away from such a disaster?"

Fedotenko recalls being forced to drink a sweet-tasting, honeylike syrup with every meal, which the government ordered everyone to drink in order to minimize the probabilities of health problems caused by radiation poisoning. "It had no Soviet emblems on the cans, but what looked to be some sort of Oriental letters on them," Fedotenko said. "There was much talk back then that, because the Japanese had experience with radiation when the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on them during World War II, the cans came from Japan."

* * *

As a big contributor in Tampa Bay's Stanley Cup victory during the last season of NHL hockey (2003-2004), Fedotenko has some fantastic memories. Among them was scoring both of the team's goals in the Game 7 clincher versus Calgary. (Final score: Fedotenko 2, Calgary 1).

With no NHL hockey in Tampa or anywhere else for that matter during the lockout of 2004-2005, Fedotenko passed away lots of time in the Chicago area with his in-laws. To keep in some semblance of physical condition and to earn a few bucks, he taught at a hockey clinic with his brother-in-law.

Although he calls America his home these days, Fedotenko has never forgotten the roots of his home land. He aspires to play for Team Ukraine in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

Fedotenko last laced up his hockey skates for his native Ukraine in the 2002 Olympics when he, along with many other NHLers from the weaker hockey republics, suffered through the early scheduling nightmares of the Salt Lake City Winter Games.

"I got there for the preliminary rounds," said Fedotenko, who realized a lifelong ambition of playing with childhood teammate Sergei Varlamov, then of the St. Louis Blues.

"At the time, I was with the Philadelphia Flyers. Anyway, the Flyers (who willingly permitted Fedotenko to participate) were playing in St. Louis and I remember that the team flew back to Philadelphia, but I stayed in St. Louis and flew on to Salt Lake City. Then we (Ukraine) lost and I had to hurry up and fly back to Philadelphia to get ready for a home game there. I was flying all over the place," he recalled.

* * *

As a solid NHL regular with star potential and one Stanley Cup ring, it is safe to say Ruslan Fedotenko has a bright future ahead of him.

Despite such rosy prospects, however, the shadow of Chornobyl is constantly present. Fedotenko is amazingly pragmatic regarding how he would ever cope with the still everlasting possibility of falling ill himself because of the Chornobyl consequences.

"I just go on with my life," he said. "If it happens, it happens."

Quick facts:

Ruslan Fedotenko: born in Kyiv on January 18, 1979; left wing, shoots left; 6'2", 195 lbs.; played in Ukraine and Finland before coming to the U.S., where he played in the SJHL, USHL, ECHL and AHL; joined the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL during the 2000-2001 season; traded to Tampa Bay Lightning in 2002.

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