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Posted:
December 11, 2020
By Emanuel Sequeira
COVID-19 had a life-changing impact for Braeden Ostepchuk.
The former Kimberley Dynamiters goalie was preparing to transition from playing minor pro hockey to becoming an engineer. Through a contact, he had a job lined up in Philadelphia, PA., that he was excited about.
The then 26-year-old was playing in his final season with the Evansville Thunderbolts in the Southern Professional Hockey League when the coronavirus put an end to his season. In 20 games, he was 13-5-0-2 with a 3.18 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.
“I’m down in the U.S on a temporary visa, I no longer have a job, I no longer have any health insurance. I no longer have a place to live. I don’t have any income,” said Ostepchuk, 27. “I have $70,000 in student debt left over. There was talk about what would happen with the border, but I decided I had to go home so I drove back to Alberta. The job I was going to do in the summer got pushed b