Prior to the September 14 Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Tryzub Ukrainian American Sports Center in Horsham, Pa., The Ukrainian Weekly’s Ihor Stelmach sat down to chat with ex-St. Louis Blues star right-wing Wayne Babych.
The NHL great told The Weekly he first laced up a pair of skates at age 3 1/2 and started attending hockey schools at age 12. By the time he was 14, people told him he had real talent. In addition to hockey, as a youngster Babych played baseball and football. Baseball was his favorite sport, and he noted that later on he received offers from five Major League Baseball teams.
What is your ancestral background/family history?
I am 100 percent Ukrainian. My greatgrandparents on my father’s side emigrated from the Brody region of Ukraine in 1910, part of a group of 88 people to settle in Two Hills County’s Musidora homestead in Alberta, Canada, 85 miles east of Edmonton. To this day, the village is 90 percent Ukrainian. Back in the early 1900s, Edmonton was the biggest city on the Canadian railroad. My parents, Edward and Tillie, still live on the homestead.
How big a Ukrainian are you?
I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on June 6, 1958. My grandparents on both sides are Ukrainian. Mother’s maiden name was Yakymyshyn – her brother, Severian, was a bishop in the Ukrainian Catholic Church. I have a twin sister, Susan, and younger brother, Dave. Second wife, Louise Sitar, is Ukrainian and we have a 12-year-old son named Cole.
Growing up, we went to Ukrainian church every Sunday and holiday until the pursuit of sports took up most of my time. I spoke only Ukrainian until age 6, when I began to learn English in school. I went to summer camp at Pigeon Lake. My family still celebrates the traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve with pyrohy, our favorite food.
We understand you and brother Dave are returning to Ukraine soon to continue your mentoring of Ukrainian youth in the sport of hockey.
This will be the second year of the project started by Nestor Budyk and Myron Zatwarnicki from the Canadian Friends of Hockey in Ukraine in an attempt to gauge the value of Ukrainian hockey on the world stage. We’re trying to create an avenue for Ukrainian youth to play the sport.
It has to start with facilities to practice the sport – Lviv, sister city to Winnipeg, has one rink, while Winnipeg has some 400 rinks. In order to develop the sport, equipment and training are required necessities. Through our connections with the National Hockey League Players Association we managed to get 22 sets of hockey equipment for use in Lviv. Six specially selected youngsters from Ukraine spent time in Canada last year learning the sport at a professional hockey school. Today any teenagers with talent are coerced into playing for Russian teams, sometimes even forced to change their citizenship.
Tell us about your weekend here in the Philadelphia area, where you spent some quality time in the Ukrainian community.
It started with an interview on “The Ukrainian Radio Hour” (WWDB-AM, Talk 860) Friday evening, talking about the skills training we’re doing in Ukraine. Earlier today I visited the “Ridna Shkola” [School of Ukrainian Studies] in Philadelphia, talking with children about what it means to be Ukrainian in the sports world, giving some kids pointers on hockey basics and helping prepare their lunch. Later we went to Manor College, the only Ukrainian college in the U.S., visiting with staff, administrators and team athletes, again speaking about the current project of teaching youth hockey in Ukraine.
Everywhere I went I was impressed with the many Ukrainians I met and their strong ethnic pride. I felt an immediate connection with everyone.
You had a prolific junior career with Edmonton and Portland, how was the NHL draft experience back in 1978?
It was important to prove I could handle the rough stuff since fighting was a big part of pro hockey at the time. I was one of three top prospects to be flown into Toronto along with Bobby Smith and Ryan Walter. Back then the draft was by telephone and I got a call from St. Louis that I went third overall. They gave me $25,000 to sign and a four-year contract paying $80,000/$90,000/$100,000/$110,000 per year.
What was the first expensive thing you bought after signing your first NHL contract?
My 1978 Corvette and furniture for my parents’ home.
When did you score your first NHL goal? And what would you say was your greatest goal.
I scored against the Detroit Red Wings in my second ever NHL game. I got an assist in my first game. [My greatest goal was] my 50th goal against Montreal in my third year.
Who was your favorite teammate to play with in your career?
It was a thrill to play with [Wayne] Gretzky on Team Canada, and I was honored to play right wing with Mario Lemieux. But my favorite was to play with my brother, Dave, in Hartford.
Describe your first “I’m in the NHL moment.”
Playing in the Montreal Forum my rookie year. I was in awe to be on the same ice as players like Guy Lafleur, Bob Gainey and Larry Robinson whom I idolized as a youngster.
What was your favorite thing about playing in the NHL?
The close relationships with the boys – we were like family and we always protected each other, looked out for one another.
What was your least favorite thing about playing in the NHL?
I can’t come up with anything.
How about Ukrainian connections during your NHL career?
Playing with Gretzky and the top forward line with Bernie Federko in St. Louis. Bernie got a lot of assists by feeding me the puck and setting me up for a lot of goals.