PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Wayne and Dave Babych, veteran NHL stars, departed for Ukraine on Tuesday, November 6, to work with Ukrainian hockey players, as announced by the Canadian Friends of Hockey in Ukraine (CFHU), located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The Babych brothers grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, dreaming of playing in the National Hockey League. Both would become stars in the NHL and are the highest selected Canadian brothers (second and third) in the NHL entrance draft. The brothers were guests at the Carpathian Hockey League Tournament on November 9-11 that was hosted by the Halitsky Levy Hockey Club located in Novoyavorivsk, near Lviv. Seven teams representing Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Ukraine participated in the Lviv Trophy 2018 international tournament.
Immediately after the tournament, the Babych brothers conducted a three-day skills camp for members of the Halitsky Levy HC. The event attracted 230 skaters between the ages of 6 and 18 for this camp.
Regarding the upcoming trip, Wayne Babych commented, “We are always interested to pass along our knowledge of the game we love to play.”
The Babych brothers also travelled to Brody, Ukraine, to visit the Babych ancestral home and community in the village of Biliavtsi.
Wayne Babych
Wayne Joseph Babych is a Ukrainian Canadian retired professional ice hockey right winger who played in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers. He is the older brother of retired NHL player Dave Babych.
Wayne Babych played his junior career with the Edmonton Oil Kings and Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Canada Hockey League. In Portland, he scored back-to-back 50-goal seasons and a hat-trick (three goals) in a span of 25 seconds.
He was drafted third overall by St. Louis Blues in the 1978 Amateur Draft. Wearing No. 10 he played 67 games alongside the Blues top guns, Bernie Ferderko and Brian Sutter, on the “Kid Line.” He scored 26 goals, 36 assists and 63 points, and set the rookie record for the St. Louis Blues franchise. In his third year, Babych erupted for a 54-goal and 96-point season. He was the first St. Louis Blues player to hit the 50-goal mark.
Wayne Babych represented Canada in international play on two different occasions.
He is now living in Winnipeg, where he operates the Babych Hockey School.
Dave Babych
David Michael Babych is a Ukrainian Canadian former professional ice hockey defensemen who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League. He played in two NHL All-Star Games and played for the Winnipeg Jets, Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. He is the younger brother of former NHL player Wayne Babych. He was the first NHL player to wear the number 44 on a permanent basis.
Considered a franchise talent after a standout junior career in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Portland Winter Hawks, Dave Babych was selected second overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.
Babych went straight to the NHL without a game in the minors, suiting up for 69 contests with the Winnipeg Jets in 1980-1981. By 1983, he was an NHL All-Star, and he went on to score 74 points that year, a career high
Dave Babych played 1,195 games in the NHL and finished with 723 points.
He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, and works with the Vancouver Canucks organization.
The Babych brothers were joined by Nestor Budyk and Myron Zatwanicki of CFHU. In Ukraine, their visit was coordinated by the Lviv Oblast branch of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOCU).
During the visit, the Babych brothers attended the presentation for the best sportsmen in the Lviv Oblast for the month of October 2018 – Alla Cherkasova (wrestling) – as well as the Consul of Canada in Lviv Oksana Wynyckyj-Yusypovych, where they signed a cooperation agreement between NOCU, the Lviv Oblast Hockey Federation and the Canadian Friends of Hockey in Ukraine.
The brother also met with Canadian servicemen and women who are training Ukrainian soldiers in the Yavorivsk region of Lviv Oblast.
For more information, readers may contact, Mr. Zatwarnicki 204-612-9179 (Canada), and Andriy Marych +380976202002 (Ukraine).