Ukrainian refugee sees hockey dream come true as he skates with Ottawa 67's

A lifetime dream came true for a Ukrainian refugee in Ottawa as he laced up to skate with a local hockey team.

Andriy Maslov, a 44, had the chance to live out his dream of playing hockey when he took to the ice with members of the Ottawa 67’s on Monday.

Growing up in Odesa, Ukraine, Maslov never had the opportunity to play hockey because there were no facilities in his small town.

"It's unbelievable. I'm 44 years old and my dream comes true you know," said Maslov. "When I was a kid, I remember I was watching hockey on the TV with my dad when he was watching Soviet Union against Canada, against the U,S. I was so excited at that time."

Thanks to the Ottawa 67’s, Maslov finally had the chance to experience the game he loves for the first time.

"First of all, I’ve never been skating in this kind of arena, you know? And this is the first time for me and they gave me a hockey stick, they had me shooting. I was exercising also with a great guy from the team," said Maslov.

Defenceman Derek Smyth said, "I think it's great, both for the refugees and for us to just see what they're going through and give them a great experience out here on the ice. Something we do every day and take for granted and all they want to do is come out here and have fun. So trying to show him a good time."

The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) has a history of working with refugees. OSEG says it will continue to support Maslov in his lifelong dream.

"We got him fully equipped today; he's never been on the ice before. We're excited to hopefully help him in his long term development as well. Connect him with a few resources in Canada afterwards to get involved in hockey," said OSEG community relations manager Marc St. Pierre.

Ottawa 67’s player development coach Evan Brownrigg, said Maslov took to the game naturally.

"I was impressed. You never know what to expect when someone's coming out for the first time but he picked it up pretty quickly," he said. "He was pretty good, shooting the puck and moving around. So yeah, it was good."

Maslov says experiencing hockey for the first time in Canada is something he will remember forever.

"This is the motherland of ice hockey, you know. It is unbelievable. I still can't believe my eyes, what I’m doing at the moment," said Maslov.