This article from The Ukrainian Weekly really caught my attention regarding top NHL prospects with ties to “The Breadbasket of Europe,” so I wanted to share (don’t ask me how it got to my feed, I have no clue). It probably shouldn’t have surprised me given the number of NHL players with names ending in “chuk” (see Dale Hawerchuk and Ilya Kovalchuk), but it did.
Also, while The Ukrainian Weekly article focuses on players’ ethnicity and not their nationality (all of the prospects discussed are Canadians), it made me curious about Ukrainian citizens who have competed in the NHL. Therefore, attached is a spreadsheet detailing past Ukrainians who have played in the league.
https://subscription.ukrweekly.com/2024/10/ducks-pick-procyszyn-in-third-round/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_surnames
https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality/ukrainian-nhl-players-career-stats.html