Ukrainians in the NHL

[SotasicA]

How about Steve Konowalchuk?

Anyway, who knows anyway. Someone's grandpa might have just got the name through adoption or it's six generations old, so does 1/64th Ukrainian even count? Especially if you're at the same time like 1/8th italian, 1/8th native, 1/8th british, 1/4 norwegian and 1/16th polish

 

[htpwn]

Gretzky is Ukrainian and Polish.

Walter is, not Wayne. People always seem to forget that Wayne's mother was English-Canadian and a descendant of Sir Isaac Brock at that!

To clear up some of the confusion that always follows discussion of Gretzky's ancestry... Walter's mother/Wayne's grandmother was born in Pidhaitsi and her mother tongue was Ukrainian. It was also the only language Walter was able to speak after suffering his stroke. His father was from the Grodno region in Belarus.

The confusion about Gretzky being Polish stems from his mother's identity: It was not unusual in this region to have religion conflated with ethnic identity. Roman Catholicism was literally referred to as the "Polish faith" in everyday speech. Despite Ukrainian being the language spoken at home, Walter's mother was also fluent in Polish and was Roman Catholic, so she considered herself to be Polish. Her Ukrainian neighbours, who would have been mostly Greek Catholic, were also likely to consider her family to be Polish. It is a bit hard to understand in the modern context, but remember, in those days a lot revolved around the church. I would not go so far to say the two communities lived separate lives but there most certainly was a divide between them.

So... take your pick about Walter... Belarusian, Ukrainian, Polish... little bit of all the above, really.

Utter nonsense. -sky or -ski might mean polish, russian, belorussian(Gretzky), ukrainian or jewish decent.

-uk can easily be belorussian.

Not really. The only part of Belarus where '-uk' is semi-common is in Polesie, bordering Ukraine.

The '-uk'/'-chuk'/'-chik' suffix is used exclusively Western Ukrainian dialects or neighbouring ones (i.e. Polesie) influenced by them.

Also, since you brought it up, '-sky'/'-ski'/'-skiy'/'-cki' (pro. '-tski') is not native to Russian. Most Russians with '-sky' in their name come from Belarus or Ukraine. The only exception are religious names (ex. Rozhdestvensky): Sometime in the 19th century Orthodox monks began using '-sky' in their surnames for some odd reason. '-sky' isn't native to the Jews either, obviously. They just adopted a surname in whatever language was dominant where they lived and in Imperial Russia, that was the Pale of Settlement, where names ending in '-sky' were common.

(Yes, I know way too much about this stuff).

Yes like that Kovalchuk guy from Tver who captained Russian NT countless times. Ukrainian confirmed.

That's like saying any something-son in the USA is Swede.

See above.

'-chuk' is not native to the Russian language.

Neither is Koval, for that matter. It is of Polish root meaning blacksmith. The Russian equivalent is Kuznets (i.e. Kuznetsov).

 

[Garl]

Dennis Maruk, Orest Kindrachuk, Bill Mosienko, John Bucyk, Mike Bossy, Vic Stasiuk, Dave Andreychuk, Walt Poddubny, Stan Smyl, Bill Barilko, Dave Semenko, Ken Daneyko, Steve Konovalchuk, Dale Hawerchuk, Keith Tkachuk(american), Matt Tkachuk(USA), Walt Tkaczuk, Brian Bellows, John Ogrodnick, Terry Sawchuk, Turk Broda, Wade Babych, Colton Parayko, Johnny Boychuk, Devan Dubnyk.

 

[Garl]

From Russia Vladimir Tarasenko, Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Zhitnik have ukrainian names(Zhitnik is ukrainian period)

 

[viceroy]

Eugene Melnyk.

Well as my Eastern European ex-girlfriend would've said:-No baby, he's a jew.

In my defense she was really pretty.

 

[Caser]

Walter is, not Wayne. People always seem to forget that Wayne's mother was English-Canadian and a descendant of Sir Isaac Brock at that!

To clear up some of the confusion that always follows discussion of Gretzky's ancestry... Walter's mother/Wayne's grandmother was born in Pidhaitsi and her mother tongue was Ukrainian. It was also the only language Walter was able to speak after suffering his stroke. His father was from the Grodno region in Belarus.

The confusion about Gretzky being Polish stems from his mother's identity: It was not unusual in this region to have religion conflated with ethnic identity. Roman Catholicism was literally referred to as the "Polish faith" in everyday speech. Despite Ukrainian being the language spoken at home, Walter's mother was also fluent in Polish and was Roman Catholic, so she considered herself to be Polish. Her Ukrainian neighbours, who would have been mostly Greek Catholic, were also likely to consider her family to be Polish. It is a bit hard to understand in the modern context, but remember, in those days a lot revolved around the church. I would not go so far to say the two communities lived separate lives but there most certainly was a divide between them.

So... take your pick about Walter... Belarusian, Ukrainian, Polish... little bit of all the above, really.



Not really. The only part of Belarus where '-uk' is semi-common is in Polesie, bordering Ukraine.

The '-uk'/'-chuk'/'-chik' suffix is used exclusively Western Ukrainian dialects or neighbouring ones (i.e. Polesie) influenced by them.

Also, since you brought it up, '-sky'/'-ski'/'-skiy'/'-cki' (pro. '-tski') is not native to Russian. Most Russians with '-sky' in their name come from Belarus or Ukraine. The only exception are religious names (ex. Rozhdestvensky): Sometime in the 19th century Orthodox monks began using '-sky' in their surnames for some odd reason. '-sky' isn't native to the Jews either, obviously. They just adopted a surname in whatever language was dominant where they lived and in Imperial Russia, that was the Pale of Settlement, where names ending in '-sky' were common.

(Yes, I know way too much about this stuff).



See above.

'-chuk' is not native to the Russian language.

Neither is Koval, for that matter. It is of Polish root meaning blacksmith. The Russian equivalent is Kuznets (i.e. Kuznetsov).

For -skiy ending there is also exception that it can be Russian if it is derived from a name of a location or a church: for example someone coming from a city of Smolensk could get the surname 'Smolenskiy'.

But yeah, if you see a Russian surname that isn't ending with -ov/-ev, -in or -ih/-ikh, you can suspect some other ethnicity roots and for those cases the most common will be Ukrainian ones. Obviously surnames ending with -ko and -uk are Ukrainian and/or Polessian ones.

Btw, heard that potential #1 draft pick this year Nolan Patrick has Ukrainian roots.

 

[MadArcand]

-sky is an extremely common suffix in Czech and Slovak (and I wouldn't be surprised if it were in Polish or the South Slavic languages as well), denotes someone being from some place (i.e. Madridsky = from Madrid)

 

[Ivo]

-sky is an extremely common suffix in Czech and Slovak (and I wouldn't be surprised if it were in Polish or the South Slavic languages as well), denotes someone being from some place (i.e. Madridsky = from Madrid)

Polish would be -ski, which is by far the most common ending of a Polish last name from my experience. -ski is also common in Macedonian, but I haven't met many other southern Slavic people with a name ending -ski.

 

[Atas2000]

Any "chuk" is a Ukrainian. Dave Andreychuk for sure, he's talked about his heritage. My wife says Dubnyk is a common Ukrainian last name. What about Chipchura? Parayko makes sense. A Scandinavian looking bloke with a Slavic last name.

Dubnyk is a common slavic name. Could be anything.

 

[Atas2000]

Not really. The only part of Belarus where '-uk' is semi-common is in Polesie, bordering Ukraine.

The '-uk'/'-chuk'/'-chik' suffix is used exclusively Western Ukrainian dialects or neighbouring ones (i.e. Polesie) influenced by them.

That is exactly what I wrote. It can be a belorussian name. Even if it is more common in the Ukraine.

Also, since you brought it up, '-sky'/'-ski'/'-skiy'/'-cki' (pro. '-tski') is not native to Russian. Most Russians with '-sky' in their name come from Belarus or Ukraine. The only exception are religious names (ex. Rozhdestvensky): Sometime in the 19th century Orthodox monks began using '-sky' in their surnames for some odd reason.

That is not correct. Prominent example - the Shuiskys, rulers of Suzdal in the 17th century.

You miss the simple fact that there was no Ukraine several hundreds of years ago and the White Russia was just a regional name for one of many similar like the Black or Red Russia. Of curse there are some regional naming traditions, but in general all what is now Russia, Belorussia, Lithuania, Ukraine and even more were coglomerates of feudal territories ruled by different rulers, populated mostly by slavic peoples. And whether ukranian neo-nazi jerks today like or not back in the day those people mostly divided themselves into Russians, Lithuanians and Poles basically(as you adequately put it religion was more important than ethnicity). The names that are often considered ukrainian today were also perfectly common for Russians.

It is wrong to consider those names to be of ukrainian decent, just like the "russian" names with -ov -ev in the Ukraine don't necessarily indicate russian decent. There are perfectly ukrainian Ukranians with those names. Those names came into being in one big area at a time when there wasn't a dividing into Russians, Ukrainians and Belorussians.

So the -ski or -skiy can be of perfectly russian decent and without any connecton to a narrow case you refered to.

'-sky' isn't native to the Jews either, obviously. They just adopted a surname in whatever language was dominant where they lived and in Imperial Russia, that was the Pale of Settlement, where names ending in '-sky' were common.

Jews didn't have native surnames. They were given to them or they chose them when ruling authorities required of the citizens to have a surname.

Again, there are typical jewish names with -ski, just like there are other typical jewish names. Indeed those -ski names with jews are due to most jews living in the polish dominated area. There are though typical jewish names with an -ov or -ev or -in ending. Some jews have names you wouldn't recognize as typically jewish.

'-chuk' is not native to the Russian language.

Neither is Koval, for that matter. It is of Polish root meaning blacksmith. The Russian equivalent is Kuznets (i.e. Kuznetsov).

Wrong again. You aren't an expert for Russian I see. Koval is perfectly native for Russians. While being out of fashion, it is a russian word just like it is a polish one. Kuznets is a synonym. If you go deeper though there was a slight difference in usage of koval and kuznets. It is a common slavic root or even indo-germanic root for that matter. The german word hauen derives from it too.

Btw, what would you make of Kovalyov then?

And yes, -chuk is very native to the russian language too. Like in barchuk for example.

(Yes, I know way too much about this stuff).

Rest assured it is not too much.

 

[Montreal Shadow]

[/b]

nah bruh

we are juggalos

Really hope you're joking.

 

[Bobby Orr's Knees]

Btw, heard that potential #1 draft pick this year Nolan Patrick has Ukrainian roots.

Quoting mrs. bobby orr's knees "Nolan looks like a very Ukrainian boy; however his last name IS Patrick."

 

[Skobel24]

Really hope you're joking.

He's not joking. They're called Juggalo's.

 

[sdf]

Slavic people from modern Russia, Belarus, east Ukraine is a RUSSIANS in general meaning

 

[SotasicA]

Is there even more to discuss now that Godwin's Law has been evoked?

 

[Bobby Orr's Knees]

Actually, took a moment to look at Patrick's wiki page. He's on the Canadian Ukes page, so there must be something to it. Cory Sarich, Terry Sawchuk, Dave Semenko, Darryl Sydor, Walter Tkaczuk, Eddie Shack, Jordin Tootoo are listed too.

 

[SaltNPeca]

I meant Canadian-Ukrainian. Sorry for not being specific. The Ukes I met argued that Dubnyk and Parayko were Ukrainian for example, but I can't tell by their last names.

As the OP hinted a few times you guys need to realize this is not some American guy calling himself Italian. In Western Canada there is a Ukrainian Canadian Diaspora (maybe like the newer Sikh Diaspora in BC). This is not Ukrainian in the traditional sense, it's Ukrainian-Canadian which also often ends up including mixed Polish, Russian, Belorussian, Czech bloodlines. In cities like Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina, and Saskatoon you have 10-15% identifying as such to this day. You have cultural institutions and just go to the grocery store and you will see the food (sausage and pirogi/varenyky/pyrohy everywhere!)

One small example is a giant pysanka: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegreville_egg

Now you also don't have to wonder why Stephen Harper was the first world leader on a plane to Kiev to talk tough about Putin. He was pandering to more than a million "Ukrainian-Canadian" voters...

Many of these people came very poor and uneducated to work the land, start businesses, and build/rebuild their lives. Their birth certificates often said "Österreichisch-Ungarische" (Austria-Hungary) and as such many were detained as enemy aliens in WWI & WWII. They just say "Ukrainian" or maybe "Polish" even if they were born in What's now Germany or Czech... they don't care about the old world generally.

Colton Parayko is a good modern example.
One you all missed is from my Dad's hometown Mr. Bernard Allan „Bernie“ Federko, HHOF 2002.

 

[Godzilla]

Walter is, not Wayne. People always seem to forget that Wayne's mother was English-Canadian and a descendant of Sir Isaac Brock at that!

To clear up some of the confusion that always follows discussion of Gretzky's ancestry... Walter's mother/Wayne's grandmother was born in Pidhaitsi and her mother tongue was Ukrainian. It was also the only language Walter was able to speak after suffering his stroke. His father was from the Grodno region in Belarus.

The confusion about Gretzky being Polish stems from his mother's identity: It was not unusual in this region to have religion conflated with ethnic identity. Roman Catholicism was literally referred to as the "Polish faith" in everyday speech. Despite Ukrainian being the language spoken at home, Walter's mother was also fluent in Polish and was Roman Catholic, so she considered herself to be Polish. Her Ukrainian neighbours, who would have been mostly Greek Catholic, were also likely to consider her family to be Polish. It is a bit hard to understand in the modern context, but remember, in those days a lot revolved around the church. I would not go so far to say the two communities lived separate lives but there most certainly was a divide between them.

So... take your pick about Walter... Belarusian, Ukrainian, Polish... little bit of all the above, really.



Not really. The only part of Belarus where '-uk' is semi-common is in Polesie, bordering Ukraine.

The '-uk'/'-chuk'/'-chik' suffix is used exclusively Western Ukrainian dialects or neighbouring ones (i.e. Polesie) influenced by them.

Also, since you brought it up, '-sky'/'-ski'/'-skiy'/'-cki' (pro. '-tski') is not native to Russian. Most Russians with '-sky' in their name come from Belarus or Ukraine. The only exception are religious names (ex. Rozhdestvensky): Sometime in the 19th century Orthodox monks began using '-sky' in their surnames for some odd reason. '-sky' isn't native to the Jews either, obviously. They just adopted a surname in whatever language was dominant where they lived and in Imperial Russia, that was the Pale of Settlement, where names ending in '-sky' were common.

(Yes, I know way too much about this stuff).



See above.

'-chuk' is not native to the Russian language.

Neither is Koval, for that matter. It is of Polish root meaning blacksmith. The Russian equivalent is Kuznets (i.e. Kuznetsov).

Wow. Consider me a very impressed Ukrainian. ( kind of )

 

[Caser]

Quoting mrs. bobby orr's knees "Nolan looks like a very Ukrainian boy; however his last name IS Patrick."

If I remember correctly, "Patrick" is the localized version of a pretty common Ukrainian surname "Patrebko".

 

[Chukcha]

Dennis Maruk, Orest Kindrachuk, Bill Mosienko, John Bucyk, Mike Bossy, Vic Stasiuk, Dave Andreychuk, Walt Poddubny, Stan Smyl, Bill Barilko, Dave Semenko, Ken Daneyko, Steve Konovalchuk, Dale Hawerchuk, Keith Tkachuk(american), Matt Tkachuk(USA), Walt Tkaczuk, Brian Bellows, John Ogrodnick, Terry Sawchuk, Turk Broda, Wade Babych, Colton Parayko, Johnny Boychuk, Devan Dubnyk.

Joey Tetarenko, Kevin Nastiuk, Darcy Wakaluk, Darryl Sydor, Curtis Leschyshyn, Shane Churla, Todd Fedoruk, Wade Belak, Mike Krushelnyski, Jordan Martinook, Craig Wolanin, Bernie Federko, Brent Severyn, Daniel Winnik, Clint Malarchuk, Taylor Fedun, Brett Kulak, Jamie Oleksiak, David Schlemko, Lonny Bohonos, Kyle Brodziak, Matt Halischuk, Jeff Chychrun, Brent Fedyk, Darcy Hordichuk, Richard Matvichuk, Ross Lupaschuk.

 

[Chukcha]

Derek Stepan and Curtis Lazar. Stepan and Lazar are pretty common ukrainian names.

 

[Chukcha]

Khristich, Ponikorovsky, and Fedotenko and the only 3 to ever make a solid contribution in the NHL. I'm sure there are a few Canadian-Ukrainians is that's what you're asking.

Alex Godynyuk was a decent NHLer too.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Really hope you're joking.

What's wrong with liking ICP?

 

[Eye of Ra]

Eric Lindros had a swedish mother.....

 

[Club]

I'm Ukrainian Polish and a bit Italian. But I don't play in the NHL. Brent Sopel is part Ukrainian