PENSACOLA, FL – At the Pensacola Ice Flyers’ meet-and-greet in October, I spoke to a number of young men that were engaging and polite; that seemed to want to put their best foot forward to welcome the fans to a new season. But one player in particular was really involved; visiting tables, smiling, taking photos with the fans, and just truly having fun. I asked Ivan Bondarenko what he thought of Pensacola, signing on this year for his third season with the Ice Flyers.
“Pensacola has been nothing but awesome to my family and I,” said Bondarenko. “Being here for the third season, I’ve built relationships with teammates and people from the community that will last a lifetime. The ability to be living next to the beach and the nice weather throughout the season is something people wish for and is my reality. And I’m so grateful that we get to experience that.”
The decision to leave Russia and pursue his dream of playing hockey in America was not an easy one. “Honestly, to this day I am still dealing with the feelings from all the decisions I made,” said Bondarenko. “As any other young player, my dream was to play NHL and moving to America was getting me closer to that dream. Throughout the summer before I left, there was a lot of back and forth on if I should stay or go. Leaving my family, my friends, and my home and moving across the globe was a little terrifying. The fact that I didn’t really speak English either was not helping. But after a good conversation with my family, my dad gave me a time limit on when I needed to make my decision. And after the time was up, I made the choice to come to America.”
Ivan leads the SPHL so far this season in assists (along with Roanoke’s Nick Ford) and in overall points as well with 13, alongside his own team captain Garrett Milan. But it’s his involvement with the fans that in a big way make him such a valuable member of the team.
“He’s number 49 on the ice, but number one in our daughter’s heart,” says Ice Flyer fan Andy Schmitz, pictured here with Callie and Ivan.
Ivan met his wife Katie while playing Juniors in Oklahoma City for the OKC Blazers. “For some reason, she wasn’t the biggest fan of me when we first met,” recalls Bondarenko. “But luckily, with the help of her dog Nugget, I slowly softened her heart to at least let me take her out on a date. As you can tell, the date went well! She’s been nothing but awesome throughout my career, supporting me through my highs and lows. Most importantly, she’s made me a family man; a father to our beautiful son Alexander.”
“Besides that,” Ivan related, “she also managed to rescue and bring home a silly little pug named Frankie, that she thought would be the best buddy for our giant shepherd, Nugget, and they are. And even though she’s got her good looks, I love her for her big heart and crazy ideas that work out.”
Ivan is optimistic about the season. “I think the team has been playing well, obviously it’s start of the season so there’s some details we need to work and some things to fix but in overall picture I’m excited for this journey.”
Photos courtesy of Andy Schmitz and PHN photographer William Kober