Currently, three players without Ukrainian passports are participating in the Ukrainian hockey championship, all of whom represent our team. In this piece, we will delve into their biographies and accomplishments prior to joining Capitals.
Boris Babik
In many sports, the goalkeeper position is crucial, and it is a position that carries on rich traditions. During his debut season in Ukraine, 26-year-old Capitals goalkeeper Boris Babik has been making a name for himself. Joining Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team in the summer, the Slovak player excelled in training camp and showcased his skills during his debut in a victorious cup match against Kharkiv Berserks.
Hailing from the Slovak town of Dolny-Kubin, Babik started his career with his hometown team before progressing through youth and adult levels in various leagues in Slovakia. He even had the honor of representing the Slovak youth national teams (U-19 and U-20).
Babik gained international experience during the 2019/2020 season in Sweden, playing for the Osteraker team in the third division. Following his time abroad, he returned to Slovakia where he continued to excel until the 2021/2022 season. His career took a turn towards the Turkish Superleague, where he achieved success with Istanbul Buyuksehir, earning silver accolades.
Babik began the 2022/2023 season in the Slovak second division, competing for Brezno, before venturing to the USA. In the Federal Hockey League, he propelled Carolina Thunderbirds to the playoff finals.
Presently, Boris Babik represents Kyiv Capitals. Throughout this season, he has competed in 26 matches and achieved three shutouts.
Eetu Moksunen
Two other legionnaires in the team already have prior experience playing in Ukrainian championship. Let’s delve into each player individually. First up is 27-year-old Finnish defenseman Eetu Moksunen, who holds the most experience among the trio with non-Ukrainian backgrounds.
Back in his homeland, Eetu primarily played in the youth leagues. However, since the 2018/2019 season, Moksunen has shifted his focus to competing in another championships. His first venture abroad saw him participate in the Polish hockey league, representing Podhale and securing a commendable performance despite losing in the third-place series. Subsequently, Moksunen continued his career in the BeNeLeague, a collaborative championship with Belgium and the Netherlands, where he showcased his skills playing for Limburg.
In the 2020/2021 season, Eetu embarked on a new chapter in his career by joining the Ukrainian championship team, Ice Wolves, where he competed in 10 matches. Subsequently, the Finnish defender transferred to Kaunas Hockey for the latter part of the season and clinched the title of Lithuania champions with the team.
Eetu began the following season with Dinaburga in Latvia and concluded it in SC Sokil from Kyiv. Throughout the last season, he showcased his versatility by also participating in two different leagues. Initially, he rejoined the familiar Podhale team in Poland before switching to the Slovak team Levice in the second division.
Similarly to Babik, Eetu underwent training camp with Capitals and made his debut appearance in the Ukrainian Cup with Kharkiv Berserks. In the ongoing championship, the Finnish player has contributed significantly, featuring in all 28 matches and scoring two goals while providing 10 assists.
Deniss Berdniks
The Latvian legionnaire is the youngest among the three foreign hockey players on our team and in the championship as a whole. At just 24 years old, Berdniks has had a diverse hockey journey. He began by gaining experience in his home country’s youth level U-16 championship and then played in the second-ranked division.
Afterward, he spent two years playing at the youth level in the USA. In the 2019/20 season, Berdniks returned to Latvia to play for Zemgale before finishing the season with the San Diego Sabers in the Western States Hockey League in North America.
The following season, Berdniks played for Latvian team Dinaburga, where he finished sixth in the standings. Then he played for three different teams in the subsequent season. Berdniks started in his native Latvian championship with Liepaja before moving on to the BeNeLeague to play for Chiefs Leuven. He then ended the season with Kramatorsk (you can read more about this period in the hockey player’s interview on our website).
Before joining Capitals, Berdniks played for the French team Chambery in the country’s second division.
It is worth mentioning that Berdniks joined Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team during the season. Deniss made his debut in the sixth-round match against Kremenchuk, which ended in a 6:0 victory for Kyiv team. Currently, the Latvian defender has played 24 matches, scoring 10 goals and providing 19 assists. With these impressive stats, he ranks fifth in the team for both goals and assists.
With only two rounds remaining in the regular season, Capitals are gearing up for the playoffs. Let’s rally together towards new victories!
