Ihnat Pazii admits going to Europe and playing for Ukraine at the IIHF U20 World Championship, Division 1B in Bled, Slovenia back in mid-December, brought back a lot of emotions.
"It was nice seeing everyone at the World Juniors when I played," said the North Bay Battalion rookie forward.
"Of course, we all understand what is going on in the world and in our homeland but we are not there and we cannot realize it in full.
"There's some really bad stuff happening over there and we just try to do the best that we can."
See related: Pazii representing Ukraine and the Battalion on world stage
So Pazii, who had been living in the United States since the start of the war in Ukraine before joining the Battalion this fall, decided he wanted to do something for his home country.
He is auctioning off a battalion-signed jersey as well as taking donations for the cause.
"The war in my Homeland has been going on for two years now, and Ukraine is holding on only thanks to the incredible heroism of our Titans," said Pazii.
"I am opening a collection, all funds from which will go to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. North Bay hockey shirt from me, with signatures of the whole team - you donate, with the possibility of receiving it."
Pazii is asking for a minimum donation of $20 with the win of the jersey to be chosen randomly on March 25.
"I feel I am supposed to help my country as much as I can," said the Kharkov, Ukraine product.
"Every dollar, and every cent helps us so there are a lot of warriors in Ukraine that are on the frontlines. They need ammunition, they need support cars and stuff like that so I am trying to do as much as I can to help them.
"I have friends that are still over there in the Ukraine and they are at war. I have been thinking about doing this for quite a while and I think it is a good thing to do. It has been two years since the war started on February 24 so I thought, giving away the jersey would be a good idea to raise some money for the people who need it."
Adam Dennis, Battalion general manager, is impressed by the efforts of Pazii raising money for his home country.
"We spend a lot of time looking into the background of our players that we draft and bring in," said Dennis.
"We try to bring in high-quality people. One of the big messages that we send is if an NHL team is going to invest in you that is a lot of money. It is not just for playing hockey, you are part of the community, you are selling that community and you are representing that franchise in that community so it is important to start cultivating these experiences and giving back to the communities that you play in and it has been really easy from my standpoint encouraging them and keeping them within the lines and pass them on to our media relations department and Stuart McLeod so he can really connect the dots with them around the community," continued Dennis.
"It has been really easy because we have got great people."
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