VIDEO: Hatters Dietz & Valk share world stage with Team Kazakhstan

Teammates for the last three seasons with Barys Nur-Sultan, it only made sense for the pair to represent their adopted nation at the 2021 World Men’s Hockey Championship in Latvia.

“Whenever you come to a new country, to be accepted the way I was here in Kazakhstan… I take a lot of pride in that,” said Dietz. “I took a lot of pride in representing Kazakhstan at the tournament and will continue to do so.”

Dietz and Valk starred for Kazakhstan in that country’s first appearance in the top division of the World Championships since 2016.

By playing at least two seasons with Barys-Nur Sultan, the pair were deemed eligible to suit up in blue and yellow for the rare opportunity to face some of the best hockey players from around the globe.

“Being able to be a part of their culture and they’ve really taken us in, to have that opportunity to get that passport to play in the tournament was special,” said Valk. “I hope we represented ourselves well and the country as well.”

Valk finished tied for second in team scoring with one goal and five points in seven games. As for Dietz, who served as alternate captain for the Kazakhs, contributed a pair of assists.

The AAA Tigers teammates both went undrafted in the WHL, but were able to carve out successful junior careers with the Medicine Hat Tigers (Valk) and Saskatoon Blades (Dietz).

“Being able to be a part of their culture and they’ve really taken us in, to have that opportunity to get that passport to play in the tournament was special,” said Valk. “I hope we represented ourselves well and the country as well.”

Each were able to eventually crack the NHL for a cup of coffee, before heading overseas to play in the KHL and eventually linking up for this year’s tournament.

“To share that with him, it makes it a little bit more unique and special because of the connection back home,” said Valk. “We’ve come a long ways and to do it with somebody that you’re close with and you’ve grown up with, it was a cool experience to have with Darren and help share it together.”

One of their more surreal moments came in Kazakhstan’s fifth game of the tournament.

Winning three of their first four games, Dietz and Valk found themselves lining up against their home nation and eventual gold medallists in Team Canada.

“We both grew up with the dream of putting on the maple leaf and it didn’t turn out that way,” said Dietz. “But, to have the opportunity to play against Canada at a tournament like that was really special.”

Following their 4-2 loss to Canada, Valk recalls checking his phone to see texts from friends and family watching him face off against the Canadians.

“The number of messages I got afterwards saying they never thought they’d be cheering against Canada, it’s pretty cool to have that support,” said Valk.

While Kazakhstan just missed out on advancing to the playoff stage, they were still able to compile a 2-2-0-3 record which marked that country’s best performance at the top level World Championships since 2004.

Avoiding relegation, Valk and Dietz are expected to play in the 2022 World Men’s Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

“It was also a lot of fun winning games,” said Valk. “It’s one [thing] to experience the tournament, but to have success it makes it a lot better.”

For now, the pair have gone their separate ways for the off-season with Valk returning home to Canada and Dietz remaining in Asia.

And while their next focus will be on getting ready for the 2021-22 KHL season, their experience in Latvia won’t be soon forgotten.

“These are the types of stories that I will tell forever,” said Dietz. “The hockey part, don’t get me wrong it’s fantastic, but the life experience has been unbelievable.”

by Scott Roblin

VIDEO: Hatters Dietz & Valk share world stage with Team Kazakhstan

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