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The Stew: Ukraine, the KHL, Humanity, Intrigue and the Power of Hockey

March 25, 2022, 9:39 AM ET [7 Comments]
Paul Stewart
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It is nothing short of heartbreaking to watch the daily horrors that unfold in Ukraine. I think back to when I was in Donetsk during my tenure in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), working on behalf of the league's discipline and officiating committees.

One of my most vivid memories: Hearing the Ukrainian national anthem, "Shche ne vmerla Ukrainas." I love national anthems, learning their histories and meanings. The Ukrainian anthem has but a single verse and single chorus. This is how it translates to English:

The glory and freedom of Ukraine has not yet perished
Luck will still smile on us, brother Ukrainians.
Our enemies will vanish, as the dew does in the sunshine,
and we, too, brothers, we will live happily in our land.

We’ll not spare either our souls or bodies to get freedom
and we’ll prove that we brothers are all of Cossack kin.


When I was in Donetsk nine years ago, I was struck by the gusto with which the crowd sang this patriotic declaration. I think back to that whenever I see how fiercely the Ukrainian people are defending their homeland against Vladimir Putin's invasion. It's impossible not to respect the tireless resolve and leadership president Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- a descendent of Holocaust survivors and victims -- has shown throughout the crisis.

From my experiences in traveling the world, I have learned two things: First of all, when you get to know people individually, they are more or less all the same. There are linguistic and cultural difference but the elements that make up personal character for good or for bad -- the sheer human capacity for nobility, selflessness, selfishness, fears, foibles, compassion or heartlessness toward others -- is something that knows no particular nationality.

Secondly, any group of people has the capacity to be collectively more or less than the sum of their parts. When everyone is united around a common goal -- especially when it comes to fighting for their very survival -- they can dig deeper than they ever thought possible and find a collective strength that is ten times their raw numbers. On a very superficial level, this applies to sports but the "life and death" in that case is strictly metaphorical. When ACTUAL life and death is involved is where true courage is revealed.

Ukraine's history is both painful and convoluted. In general, Ukrainians have a hard-wired underdog mentality. Long before the current situation -- as reflected by the national anthem -- there was a belief that banding together as Ukrainians in times of crisis is absolutely critical to their collective survival because there is strength in numbers. There is also a long-standing belief (born out by history) that outsiders will not lay themselves on the line despite whatever lip service and expressions of sympathy are given on their behalf. Anyone can express support when their own blood won't be spilled, their own families are not in jeopardy.

When Zelenskyy speaks to foreign leaders, it is through a combination of pragmatism, appeals to personal humanity and through words that are geared toward galvanizing his people. He very effectively tap into his own people's collective identity and history that I just described.

Throughout this crisis, I have been struck by just how strong of a grasp on history and sense of purpose and identity the Ukrainians have shown. They are warriors, through and through, and this applies to civilians as well as rank-and-file soliders and military leaders.

By contrast, I have found Vladimir Putin to have taken the wrong lessons away from history: a lack of understanding that hubris, despotism and brutality has inevitably brought down men much smarter, strategically savvy and resourceful than himself. He has an endless well of egotism, paranoia, overconfidence in his own infallibility and underestimation of his foes. It's already brought about catastrophic human suffering (including to his own people) and will only continue to worsen.

He is book smart but blind to the fact that absolute belief in one's own cult of personality and misguided attempts to recreate the worst elements of a since-fallen empire are the surest path toward self-destruction. Endless bravado, brutality and ruthlessness lead only to isolation. Surrounding oneself only with sycophants -- who flatter endlessly but are untrustworthy and fickle -- has been the downfall of many so-called leaders. Inevitably, Putin will come to a bad end and forever be cast among history's villains. In the meantime, the price paid will be incalculable.

I was a history major at the University of Pennsylvania, specifically Asian history. But I am a history buff in general, particularly military history, American and world history. Those who don't learn from history -- or misinterpret its warnings -- are doomed to repeat the most tragic stories. That's what we are seeing right now, and it's very sad.

I have been thinking a lot lately about my experiences in working for the KHL. The league was one of Putin's ambitions -- a rival circuit to the NHL stretching across Europe and into Asia, but under a centralized authority based in Russia. Putin-affiliated oligarchs play a central role in team ownership and league policies. But it is a mistake to paint everyone affiliated with the league with a single brush stroke.

During my time in the KHL, there was certainly a high level of internal infighting and intrigue.
It was sort of like being Blackthorne in a latter-day Shogun. There was no shortage of slippery, transparently ambitious and morally ambiguous people in varying degrees of power. There were also people that you discovered were trustworthy and cared only that you did your job well. I also worked with -- and for -- some people that I found to be very ethical and driven by a love of the game and a heartfelt desire to see the league thrive for the right reasons.

I once had a KHL boss look me in the eyes and ask, "Who are you loyal to here in the KHL?"

My response was simple. I said, "I have appreciation for Mr. Timchenko and Mr. Medvedev, the Chairman and the President of this league for giving me the chance to work here in Russian hockey. But my loyalty is to the game."

The small aspects of the game, the nuances: those are the aspects that can make or break an official. It's the attention to detail, showing up with 100% effort every night, being honest, working sweating and actually caring about what you do. It's making the tough call because it's the right call.

Within the KHL -- and not only the KHL, because it exists everywhere but is almost a way of life to some within their system -- matters of league discipline and officiating come down to this: "What calls and rulings will most benefit MY personal interests and the interests of my team? To me, that's fairness. Be fair as I define it, and there are perks you can reap. Serve any purpose other than my own ambitions, and I'll do my damndest to make sure you're disgraced and fired."

Some were more subtle about it than others. The people you could trust within the league might privately warn you about the bad actors. For example, if you were invited to a social event on a game day, it strongly behooved you to politely decline. Why? Because the sumptuous food and drink you toasted over could sometimes amount to a bribe or be a trap set for you ("That guy's been drinking on the job or cutting side deals and here's the proof").

Not everyone was like that, of course, and not every favor done for you was intended to be transactional in nature. But there was a very fine line to trade. I could control my destiny as far as I could which included giving a 100% Paul Stewart effort every night. If I got fired, so be it. But I wouldn't make it easy for them by fudging a recommendation or review of an official or a potential supplementary discipline case. I was transparent in the standards I applied and let the chips fall where they may.

As I said there were -- and are -- some scrupulous figures in and around the KHL and there were some bad actors. Actually, some of the latter folks in positions of power within the league are on the international sanctions list and have been in the news lately in an unflattering light.

I do not regret my time in the KHL. For the most part, it was a positive experience. I hope that I help improve their officiating standards and practices. I made some friendships that I still cherish to this day. I was treated well overall. I enjoyed the places that I had the opportunity to travel, both within and outside Russia. The joy of hockey is universal.

One of my favorite stories from my time in Russia: In Sept. 2014, I rode the Moscow metro going from CSKA's home rink to downtown. While on the train, I saw a father and son. The dad was lugging his son's hockey gear. The son sported a Dynamo Moscow jacket and a Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin hat.

Hockey people enjoy running into other hockey people, regardless of the locale or the language they speak. In my best Russian (which is decidedly mediocre, but I picked up as much as I could), I said hello and asked where they were going. They told me they were on the way back from the son's hockey practice.

Putting all politics, cultural differences and language barriers aside, I felt a kinship to the hockey dad and his boy. The gleam in the kid's eyes and the dad's pride standing beside him transcended everything else. Hockey was the bond that formed a connection but this really was about a much bigger bond of being a father and remembering what it was like to be in the son's place, too.

Another cherished memory: Making friends in Bratislava, Slovakia at the Legends Game during the 2014 KHL All-Star Game weekend. My brother referee was Peter Orszag, Referee in Chief for Slovakia, and our two KHL Linesmen, Viktor Birin and Alex Zakharenkov did a fantastic job. The beer, the sausage, the crowd of 10,000, the Hilton Hotel, the chartered planes and luxury buses, autograph sessions, and that referee sweater I wore (I think I may have to have this one framed) were all a blast. Hockey made it all possible.

Hockey is a global sport that has a powerful effect on all that play or just love the game. At the end of the day, it's that human connection that elevates the game into something magnificent.

Before I end this blog, I want to make one more point related to Ukrainians and their contributions to our wonderful sport. Canada has a very substantial population of people whose families emigrated from Ukraine, and our sport has been enriched by their participation for generations. You can go all the way back to the Boston Bruins trio of John Bucyk, Bronco Horvath and Vic Stasiuk ("the Uke line") to the Broad Street Bullies' Orest Kindrachuk to current NHL star Jakob Chychrun (son of former NHL tough guy Jeff Chychrun. a Canadian of Ukrainian descent and an American-born mom of Jewish descent).

Call me sentimental or whatever you want, but I believe in the melting pot theory and I believe that we are all enriched by diversity within our sport. This is what elevates hockey above being mere sport into something that represents humanity at its best.

That said, we are getting stark reminders that metaphors of "war" and "battle" and even the concepts of "winning and losing" in hockey are rendered callow when we are confronted by real-life war, tragedy. suffering and human loss. No one wins in a real war. No one.

The Russian Hockey writer, Seve Kakushkin, and I were talking about Gen. Patton at the end of WWII wanting to turn his tanks to the east and push the Russians back to their borders.
basically, start a war with the Russians.

I asked Seve who would have won. He said neither side. More death and destruction on peoples and lands that have just had their fill and overfill. That would have been the only outcome.

The Russian people have pride in their history. I can't help but think that this current situation is not their proudest moment. It's a national tragedy. Every grieving spouse and parent, every life shattered, every needless day and night of this pointless war is loss that knows no political affiliations or supposed ideology.

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A 2018 inductee into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.

Visit Paul's official websites, YaWannaGo.com and Officiating by Stewart
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