Ruslan Fedotenko: Hockey Is 'Not Real People Dying and Seeing Limbs Blown Up'

Ruslan Fedotenko had a simple and admirable plan. The veteran NHL winger, who has a pair of Stanley Cup tattoos on his right shoulder, would take his skills back to his home country Ukraine during the 2012 NHL lockout. He would give something back to the nation that launched his career, and sent him on to the NHL to lift those two Stanley Cups. But now Ukraine is in the midst of an armed conflict. The club he signed with has suspended operations. And Fedotenko is back in Newark, looking for an invite to an NHL camp.

In 2012, Fedotenko signed to play through the lockout with HC Donbass, a team in Donetsk, Ukraine that was in its first season in the Russia-based Kontintental Hockey League. HC Donbass became the first Ukranian team in the KHL, which is the premier league in Europe and Asia. In 33 games, Fedotenko finished with 8 goals and 10 assists. He returned to the NHL after the lockout in to play a shortened season with the Flyers. HC Donbass missed the Western Conference playoffs by a point.

In the offseason, Fedotenko decided to return to Ukraine to play out his career. He signed a three-year deal with HC Donbass, and in 2013-14, the team advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Construction began on a new arena.

"Finally they get the KHL team in the Ukraine, finally our owner was trying to revive hockey in Ukraine and that's one of the things why I went back: to try and give back a little bit to Ukraine, to Ukrainian Hockey and the people there," Fedotenko said. "I grew up there, I learned to play hockey there. And because of that, I [fulfilled] my dream to come and play in the NHL."

Then, this past May, pro-Russia militants seized the club's home arena. They looted it and set fires inside. The takeover came as part of a larger outbreak of violence in Ukraine.

"Armed people tied the guard, took office equipment, plasma screens, communication equipment, safety box, which was in the fan shop, stole a company car," the club said in an official statement. "Cynical and impudent behavior of terrorists caused indignation of both the hockey community and hockey club 'Donbass,' which represents Ukraine in one of the strongest leagues in the world - the Kontinental Hockey League."

The team cancelled its upcoming 2014-15 season. Fedotenko, along with dozens of other players found themselves out of a job and home. Now Fedotenko is back in Newark, New Jersey, trying to claw his way back into the NHL. He was released from a tryout with the Devils on September 30.

But while he still practices and prepares, he remembers that life supersedes sports. His hope is that Ukraine can avoid a descending into a full, nation-wide war. Fedotenko has extended family members still in the Ukrainian conflict zone.

"Hockey aside, I don't want to see the war. I don't want to see people dying," Fedotenko said. "There's no reason for innocent people dying and [being forced to flee] and [have their lives ruined].

Due to his NHL success, Fedotenko never really had a chance to play in the World Championships or help Ukraine at the international level. He saw the NHL lockout as his chance to make up for that.

"When this opportunity came and they opened a KHL team in Ukraine, I felt it was a great opportunity to help revive hockey there," Fedotenko said.

The violence in Donetsk began well before the team's arena was taken over. And as a result, the club was forced to play many of its home games on the road, especially in the playoffs. As most KHL teams are Russia-based, that meant taking hockey away from Ukraine, and bringing it to the country that has helped push Ukraine to violence. Hockey being outside Ukraine also does little to help grow hockey inside it.

"This is unfortunate for the fans, for hockey, but aside [from] that, I feel like that's still a sport," said Fedotenko. "It's not real people dying and seeing limbs blown up … and losing [their] homes and kids … That's unbelievable and that's surreal right now."

Fedotenko mentioned that he was fortunate to avoid a lot of the violence, due to the team playing on the road.

"When I was playing, there was still some protests, but there was nothing as bad as when we left," he said. "We finished up [the playoffs] on the road so they did not let us play at home. and as soon as I left that's when some rebels took over the airport and them some fighting and then it just snowballs from there."

While Fedotenko has generally avoided making any sweeping political statements, other players have spoken up recently. Semyon Varlamov, a goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche recently donned a t-shirt that stated "Crimea is ours," and featured a print of Vladimir Putin.. Others have simply stated their support for Russia or their hopes that Ukraine is able to avoid war.

The death toll is now nearing 3,500 since the fighting began after Russian forces moved in and annexed Crimea, a former Ukrainian peninsula. Just recently, 12 were killed in fighting at the Donetsk airport, just miles from the arena. Tentatively, the club will continue operations after sitting the season out, but with a tremulous ceasefire in, the club's future is shrouded in uncertainty.

Nearly 5,000 miles away, Fedotenko continues to search for certainty as well, at least until HC Donbass can take the ice again.