HC Dnipro Wolves This article is about the HC Dnipro Wolves of the Ukrainian Hockey League . Story of the Team . In early 1970 ' s , when the construction of the Meteor Ice Sport Palace began in Dnepropetrovs ' k , Ukraine , rumors started that soon it will become a home to a substantial hockey team . Alas , the management of the rocket plant , Yuzhmash ( the owner of the complex ) preferred to support and develope figure skating , and it sure did - many known skaters came out of it , including 1994 Olympics Gold Medalist , Oksana Baiul . Nevertheless , in 2002 , thanks to the U . S . businessman , Edward Sartan , ice hockey " tree " was first planted at the Meteor Ice Palace in Dnepropetrovs ' k anyway . Originally team debuted under the name " Meteor " in the Ukrainian Championship First League , then in 2003 was promoted to the Ukrainian Championship Major League and changed its name to " Dnipro Wolves " ( " Dneprovskie Volki " ) " Dnipro Wolves " . About the circumstances under which in the Ukraine a second after Sokol professional hockey club appeared and of its objectives , told the correspondent of " 2000 " Weekly Newspaper in the 2005 interview the President of the club , its first Captain and the President of Dnepropetrovs ' k Oblast Ice Hockey Federation , Edward Sartan . - - I arrived in Dnipropetrovs ’ k five years ago , when the agency office of Tradepoint was established here and I became its chief - - says Mr . Sartan . About a year later I learned that on a practice rink of the Ice Palace , hockey enthusiasts get together and from 6 to 8 in the morning play their beloved game , but using a ball . Such early practice time was determined by the ice time commitments of the rink , and to play with a puck was forbidden to them out of fear that it can hit someone or break something - many of the boards were missing and there was no plexiglas or netting . I am in love with hockey from childhood and that is why this information was of interest to me . I soon met the players . We started skating together . Some time later , our amateur group was invited to a tournament in Odessa , organized by the local oil and fats plant that had their own amateur team , Solnechnaya Dolina ( Sun Valley ) . After the matches in Odessa and full of excitement from the experience an idea was born to organize a similar amateur tournament in Dnipropetrovs ’ k . We met with Meteor Ice Palace management , rented the rink for five days , bought the missing equipment and two and a half years ago held the debut of the Tradepoint Cup . Six teams participated in the competition , and as guests of honor we invited to Dnipropetrovs ’ k two Soviet hockey legends , participants of the famous USSR vs . Canada series , Vladimir Lutchenko and Viacheslav Anisin . The famous veterans liked our city so much that they promised to personally come out on ice and play an exhibition game during the next tournament . Last year the Second Tradepoint Cup was opened with a friendly game between Meteor and the veteran team , Russian Stars . Onto the ice arena came out such legends of Soviet hockey as , Yuri Blinov , Alexander Gusev , Victor Shalimov , Viacheslav Anisin , Alexander Bodunov , Yuri Lebedev , Yuri Shatalov , brothers Alexander and Vladimir Golikov … Only Lutchenko could not come , because at the time he was working as a Scout for the NHL club , New York Islanders . This time , nine teams participated in the tournament itself . - - This is probably when you got the desire to organize a more serious team in Dnipropetrovs ’ k ? - - Yes , we participated in Division 1 Ukraine Championship , but in the final match for the right to play in the majors lost to Khimik from Severodonetsk . Although , at the least we were not weaker than the other team . So before the next national championship we were psyched only for victory . In order to further popularize hockey in our region we decided to hold the Division 1 Championships in Dnipropetrovs ’ k . We made a deal with the management of the Ice Palace – the main arena was rented and the ice rink frozen . Incidentally , it was the first time the main arena was used for a hockey game . This time the key objective – to win in Division 1 – was fulfilled . - - Then prior to your debut in the majors you considerably reinforced the team . At the same time , in accordance with the registration rules , you acquired the status of a professional club . - - We made these decisions deliberately . Someone , for example , may not like it , that we signed professional contracts with 13 players from Kiev at one time , who previously played for Sokol , HC Kiev and abroad : Dmitriy Tikhomirov , Oleg Synkov , Alexei Bernadskiy , Alexander Mukhanov , Sergei Chumak and others . But this was an unavoidable step . Today it ’ s not possible to create a team , that could handle serious objectives , using homegrown players . At the same time , in the future , the backbone of the group will be made up of local players . To achieve this , in September of last year we opened our own youth hockey school , where at this moment more than 40 kids are skating . I am confident , that in 5 - 7 years one of them will become the leader of our team . Regarding the registration , it is true , we became the second after Kiev ’ s Sokol professional hockey club in the Ukraine . This year , HC Dnepr - Meteor went through licensing and now adheres to all criteria of a professional club . Currently , Dnepr - Meteor consists of two teams : professional – Dnipro Wolves , which had already successfully debuted in the majors , and the amateur – Meteor ( this team enrolled into Division 1 this season ) . As I already mentioned earlier , we have our own hockey school . Also , the club has an office and a legal address . We are in the process of developing an official web site . We will be improving the infrastructure ( for now , we are renting ice from Meteor ) . - - What objectives are set for Dnipro Wolves this season ? - - The team will have three intermediate goals : first , win ( finish first the regular season ) the Ukrainian Major League Championship , then , pass all play - off rounds , and ultimately , try and defeat Kiev ’ s Sokol in the final champion title match . - - Will the major league home games be conducted on the main arena of the Ice Palace ? - - At the auxiliary rink for now . It also has good ice , it is not inferior to that one in Kharkov or in Kiev ’ s ATEK , the only disadvantage – small number of spectator seats . I clearly remember , that the final match of the Division 1 Championships , between our team and Dnipro from Kherson , there were 3000 spectators on the bleachers of Meteor Ice Palace . But to freeze the rink of the main arena specially for each calendar match – troublesome and expensive task . - - During the last season , you yourself skated for Dnipro Wolves . Are you planning to continue to play at this season ’ s higher level ? - - I clearly understand that at 46 it is objectively difficult for me to compete with younger players . But that feeling of coming out onto the ice and all the hockey emotions . . . Therefore , I hope that the Head Coach , Vladimir Voloshin may let me out once in a while . Meantime , I would like to note , that the line - up decisions are strictly his prerogative and I never interfere in it . - - It is not a secret that today Ukrainian Championship leaves much to be desired . Can we say , that in time your club is intending to move to a higher level ? - - If already in this season we win the national competition , in the next season we will try to debut in Belarus Open Championship . But to achieve this , we require a better financial base – just for our company alone to pull the club on such a level is hard . That is why , in the nearest future we will try to get few more sponsors involved in the financing of Dnipro Wolves . If we succeed in implementing our ideas , I am confident , that hockey club in Dnipropetrovs ’ k will not become a “ one - night stand ” . We have all the opportunities to become competitive team and play just as well as Kiev ’ s Sokol . Home games plays at Meteor Sport Palace ( 5 . 500 ) or at Meteor - 2 Ice Rink ( 300 ) . Video : Official site : www . hockey . dp . ua