Event: Nanovic Forum at Notre Dame
Speaker: Mikulas Dzurinda, Prime Minister of Slovakia (1998-2006)
Topic: The Challenges Facing Both Shores of the Atlantic.
Last week the University of Notre Dame’s Nanovic Institute for European Studies hosted: Resistance to Russian/Soviet Imperialism in the Words of the Elite Athletes of the Day.
Event: Panel Discussion with four members of the Hockey Hall of Fame and International/NHL superstars
Speakers: Vaclav Nedomansky, Dmitri Khristich, Anton Stastny, Peter Stastny
Moderator: Tom Heiden
Topic: Resistance to Russian/Soviet Imperialism in the words of the Elite Athletes of the Day
Today we face the most acute threat to the post-WWII values-based, rules-based order: Putin’s war on Ukraine and the reassertion of Russian imperialism.
I was honored to moderate panel discussions with the elite athletes who escaped from the Soviet Bloc, both from then Czechoslovakia and Ukraine: Vaclav Nedomansky, Dmitri Khristich, Anton Stastny, and Peter Stastny, together with the former Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda.
They vividly described life and politics through their own eyes, reflecting on what it was like to live under the boot of the Russian totalitarian bear. Their stories of living under totalitarian rule were emotional to tell and difficult to hear. The facts of their escapes were riveting. Their determination to resist and to find freedom is inspiring. They displayed the courage to resist then and to again resist today.
Anton Stastny, Slovakian champion and NHL All-Star, was eloquent and direct: “Freedom is not free.”
I was proud to stand on Notre Dame’s stage in their presence.
Panelists
Dmitri Khristich, a long-time National Hockey League (NHL) player and Ukraine native. He was in Kyiv as air raid sirens began to wail and Putin’s bombs began to fall. He played for the USSR in the World Championships and for Ukraine in both the World Championships and the 2002 Olympics. In the NHL, he played for the Washington Capitals, the Los Angeles Kings, the Boston Bruins, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dmitri was twice elected an NHL All-Star.
Václav Nedomanský, the first Czech hockey player to defect to North America to play in the NHL. A native of Slovakia, he was a star of the Czech national team. He defected in 1974, escaping through Switzerland. Throughout his career, he played forward with SHK Hodonín, Slovan ChZJD Bratislava, the Toronto Toros, the Birmingham Bulls, the Detroit Red Wings, the St. Louis Blues, and the New York Rangers. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
Anton Šťastný, a professional hockey player who defected from Czechoslovakia to Canada (via Austria) in 1980. He played nine seasons for the NHL’s Quebec Nordiques, along with his brothers Peter and Marian. As a rookie, Anton scored a remarkable eight points in one game with his brother Peter scoring another eight points in the same game. Anton played for the Czech national team in the World Championships and in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Later in his career, he also played seasons with the Halifax Citadels, HC Fribourg-Gottéron, EHC Olten, and HC Slovan Bratislava. He lives in Switzerland.
Peter Šťastný, NHL All-Star and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a World and European Champion with the Czechoslovakia National Team, and later served as a member of the European Parliament for Slovakia (2004-2014). Peter, along with his brother Anton, escaped to Quebec while the Czech national team was in Austria. They were later joined by their brother Marian. He played for the Quebec Nordiques for ten seasons before also playing seasons with the New Jersey Devils, the St. Louis Blues, and HC Slovan Bratislava. He holds the distinction of being the first player in NHL history to score over 100 points in his rookie year and is the second highest-scoring player of the 1980s after Wayne Gretsky.
Read the original story on The Nanovic Forum and the Chair of the Nanovic Institute website.
