Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus singing Ukrainian national anthem before Winnipeg Jets game

We’ve seen Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus singing the national anthem prior to the start of quite a few Winnipeg Jets games but yesterday was a first as they began with the Ukrainian national anthem in a stand for peace with what is taking place right now over in Europe. I could be wrong but I wondered last night if this was the first time (at an NHL game in North America) a national anthem (other than the Canadian or American) has been sung pre-game.

If you weren’t in the building here is the view from my seat in the pressbox:

And here is what was shown on TV:

In addition to the impact it clearly had on the fans who watched it both in the stands and at home it also made an impression on the players. After the game Jets centre Pierre-Luc Dubois had this to say about the performance:

“It was a beautiful job by them. A lot of emotion, I think everybody in the building. But it was a special moment that I think everybody got to share together. I think everybody in the arena tonight had goosebumps during both national anthems. It was a special moment.”

A powerful performance by the Manitoba group.