ICE HOCKEY ... IN ISRAEL

Hot prospects await Israel's ice hockey team

 

By Adi Rubinstein  

 

Israel Hayom

October 5, 2021

 

 

Yuval Rosenthal (R) of Israel fights for the puck with Aleksandar Todorov (L) of Bulgaria during the Group B, Division II match of the Ice Hockey World Tournament at the Ice Dome, Mexico City, April 15, 2016  

 

At the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, Israeli sports fans discovered that their country has a Blue and White baseball team that plays at the highest level. Nevertheless, eyebrows were raised regarding the identity of some of the players and their (tenuous) connection to Israel. Another sport that Israelis may be surprised to discover is becoming increasingly popular in the Jewish State is ice hockey. What, you may ask, is the connection between a country where the mercury is still hitting 90 degrees in October and a tough winter sport that is popular in North American and Eastern Europe?

Ice hockey has been around in Israel since 1990 and was played mostly by immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, and young people who were exposed to the game in the United States and Canada, where the game is extremely popular. The level in Israel wasn't high, but with time an Israeli national team was founded and competed at mid-level in Europe. Over the years, as has been the case in many sports in Israel, the leagues and associations split following claims of irregularities.

The breakaway teams found themselves playing in new leagues and in new ice-hockey arenas, including an impressive, international standard arena on Moshav Tnuvot in the Sharon region.

Team Israel celebrates the Bronze medal after the Group B, Division II match of the Ice Hockey World Tournament at the Ice Dome, Mexico City, April 15, 2016   

When we arrive at the OneIce Arena there are hundreds of kids skating on the ice and playing hockey. It's difficult to believe that we are in central Israel, not in Scandinavia. Michael Horowitz, the professional manager of the OneIce Academy says that ice hockey in Israel is flourishing. He has been involved in the sport for the past 25 years and he can barely hide his excitement.

"We have 400 people registered in the academies and the leagues; we even have people in their 50s playing. This year we are seeing a surge in the popularity of the sport among girls. Up to third grade, girls and boys play together; from fourth grade, they can choose where to play. Our goal at the end of the day is to get a female player to play overseas."

One of the things that stand out about hockey training (there are also games played in Bat Yam and Metula) is that it takes place in Hebrew. In the past, you would have heard mostly Russian and English, but now, instructions are given out in Hebrew.

Horowitz smiles: "There are kids who are the second and third generation to families that came from Northern Europe. At first, the parents send their kids to rollerblades and then they move up to ice hockey. Then there are the locals who come to games and try their luck even though they have no hockey background.

"I was always the exception on the local scene because I don't speak Russian and everybody would look at me as if I were a little strange. But now training takes place in Hebrew and that's something that's new for me as well. I think that at the end of the day ice hockey is a sport that is very suitable for us Israelis/ It's intensive, tough, and is considered the fastest sport in the world. Those are traits that are much more suitable for us than baseball for example. We are looking for some respite from the heat; everyone that enters the ice hockey arena suddenly feels as if they are overseas because of the temperature and the smell. I think that attracts a lot of people to come and compete. ".

While in sports such as basketball and soccer, it is common for Israeli players to play in overseas leagues, in ice hockey it's a different story. One could say that it's like selling ice to Eskimos. But the facts speak for themselves and this year eight Israeli players will ply their trade in leagues in Canada, the Czech Republic, Belarus, the United States, Sweden and Finland, countries where ice hockey is among the Top Five sports in terms of popularity, and are themselves major exporters of players to leagues around the world.

In every sport, the transition to a foreign country is difficult, especially for young players, and all the more so when we are talking about countries with a different mentality to the Land of Falafel. Nick Ogratcin from Be'er Yaakov is only 12 years old, but he will be playing this season in the United States, with a youth team in Boston. He isn't the only one. Twelve-year-old Nikita Zittersman from Ness Tziona received an offer to play in Canada to advance his game. Yuval Turner, a 17-year-old from Tel Aviv, has signed for a Swedish club where he plays for the under-20s with another Israeli of the same age, Ido Steinberg.

Yuval Halpert, 21, from Ness Tziona, started playing ice hockey when he was eight and played for the Israeli under-20 national team from the age of 15. He captained the under-20s and has played at nine world championships, including with the full Israeli national team. Halpert will play the coming season with Saint Louis University in the U.S. Mike Levin, 15, the son of the professional manager of the OneIce Arena in Tnuvot, has moved to Canada to achieve his dreams. This year will be his fourth in Canada, a hockey superpower. "

"Hockey players who don't go overseas when they are 12-13 to improve their game and gain recognition will find it very hard to reach the highest levels. Jews around the world support them and embrace them, "explains Horowitz. "There are also families that travel with the players to Canada, and non-Jewish families that host the kids and give them a real home feeling."

Yuval Turner, a 12th grader from the Hebrew Gymnasium school in Herzliya says nothing prepared him for the transition from the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv to the sleepy Swedish town of Eslov, about an hour and a half from the district capital Malmo. Turner started playing ice hockey when he spent three years with his family in Montreal. "It's all about hockey here," says Turner. I study at school until 14:00 via zoom and then it's hockey all day, every day. I train twice a day on the ice and in the gym and sometimes I have technical training. It's exactly what I wanted, to try and take hockey seriously for a year and see where it takes me."

Turner lives in an apartment with other Israelis who have come to try and turn pro hockey players. "I've been here about a month and a half and for the moment I'm having a good time. There are big differences in mentality; everything here is very slow, especially compared to Tel Aviv. The distances are very large and of course it's really cold. But when I got to train with the local senior team it was an incredible experience and I realized that this is where I want to be. I'm supposed to go into the army next year and I'm still not sure how things will work out. But even if I don't get an outstanding athlete status that doesn't mean I will give up my hockey dream.

David Levin (21) is Israel's most veteran overseas player. He moved to Canada when he was 12 and since then has launched an international career. He attended NHL rookie camps and teams are following his development. He currently plays for the Bratislava Capitals of Slovakia which plays in the inter-European ICE Hockey League.

"The League has been around for five years and has 14 teams from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Austria," explains Levin. "Games are attended by 8,000-12,000 fans. When I tell people here that I am from Israel they fall silent for a few seconds and only then start to talk to me."

Levin is the most senior Israeli hockey player today. "The sums earned in these leagues are similar to those earned in the parallel soccer leagues. As far as conditions go, they are exactly like in the NHL. It's funny because here people come up to me in the street to talk to me, while in Israel only people who play hockey know who I am."

Levin knows that there are a lot of Israeli kids deliberating whether to go overseas at a young age, and his opinion on that is clear-cut. "When I left for Canada, I didn't know a word of English. People looked at me like I came from a country that has no connection to hockey, but from the first training session, they realized I was no sucker and that the Israelis have something to offer on the ice. My dream is still to reach the NHL and I know that teams are following me. I think I can do it."

The hope is that over the next few years the level in Israel will rise and that strong national teams will emerge. But for that, a big bang moment is required. Horowitz, who is in charge of the next generation of Israeli stars, believes that "an Israeli player in the NHL is a realistic dream" and adds that "if we can grow a critical mass of players, we can bring the Israeli national team to the highest levels. We aren't there yet, but it's definitely in our reach."