"He's a legend," Cholach said moments after he got the news. "It's a big honor to stand with him and to drop the puck. Really big. I think I'll be nervous but I'll try not to shake. But I'll be standing beside The Great One."
Gretzky, the leading scorer in NHL history, was born in Brantford, Ontario, about 25 miles from Hamilton. He worked the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres as an analyst for TNT.
The pregame puck drop at Tim Hortons Field took on added significance when Cholach, an 18-year-old defenseman with Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League, took off his Barrie jersey to reveal a Ukraine national team jersey.
Cholach, selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the sixth round (No. 190) of the 2021 NHL Draft, is from Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine. Gretzky also has Ukrainian roots.
Ukraine has been ravaged since being invaded by Russia on Feb. 23.
"I just want to thank the NHL, they don't stay away from this, that they help to show what's really going on in my country," Cholach said before the game. "I just want to show that Ukraine is strong."
When introducing Cholach, the public address announcer said, "In honor of Artur, we recognize the resilient and steadfast people of Ukraine who are in our thoughts today."
Gretzky took the microphone to salute his father, Walter, who died at the age 82 on March 4, 2021, and all hockey families.
"Hello, Hamilton," Gretzky said. "And thank you very much for this great event. A year ago I lost my father, who was one of the great hockey dads of all time. We honor him today with these kids. I'm sure if you didn't meet my dad at a Sabres game or a Leafs game, he was always at the rinks encouraging young boys and young girls to enjoy the game of hockey. So congratulations and good luck to both teams today as we honor parents and grandparents of all these kids."
Cholach said he talks to his family and friends in Ukraine almost daily and that the events unfolding there have caused him stress.
"It's scary every day to watch the news," he said. "It's scary for my friends, my family.
"My family is in the west of Ukraine, about 30 kilometers from the border with Poland. There weren't bombings there, but yesterday there's the biggest military training ground in Europe about five kilometers from our home, and there were bombs around that training ground. So yesterday was a scary one. They're OK. They're just scared."
