Artemy Novak

Artemy Andreyevich Novak (Ukrainian: Артемій Андреевич Новак ; born 22 July 2002) is a Ukrainian professional ice hockey winger currently playing for the Winnipeg Voyagers of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). He was selected in the first round, first overall, by the Arizona Sunshine at the 2020 NAHL Entry Draft. Novak won the Championship Cup as a member of the Voyagers in 2028.

Early Life
Novak was born on November 3, 2002 to Andriy and Nina Novak in Novoyavorivsk, Lviv Oblast. He has two older brothers, Danilo and Georgiy. Danilo Novak currently plays for the Pride of St. Petersburg of the Intercontinental Hockey League (IHL), a hockey club based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Novak was raised Eastern Orthodox, but stopped practicing the religion after moving away from home. His father was a professional hockey coach for the local team: the Tigers HC (Ukrainian: ХК тигри), a men's professional hockey club based in Novoyavorivsk and a founding member of the Ukrainian Professional Hockey League. Novak grew up watching the Halifax Heartthrobs due to the presence of Anders Wulff, his favorite player. As a pre-teen, Novak even attempted to learn Danish in order to emulate the winger. Though Wulff was his favorite player, Novak has named Michael Nahanee as the player who most influenced his playing style.

Novak started skating at the age of two, and by three was already an accomplished skater. He began playing for his local U9 youth hockey team at just six years old. For the rest of his minor hockey career, Novak consistently played at least three levels above his actual age. His play and harsh attitude towards his teammates attracted a considerable amount of negative attention and Novak was frequently booed, even by parents of his own teammates. At 11, Novak participated in the 2013 Ukraine International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Novoyavorivsk Bullets (Новояворівськ набої), scoring 26 points across 8 games.

At the age of 15, Novak began attending the Lviv State School of Physical Culture, a specialized boarding school in Lviv. At 16, he dropped out of school to begin playing for the Lviv Knights (Ukrainian: львівські лицарі) of the Ukraine Junior Hockey League (UJHL). In his rookie season, Novak scored 162 points in 57 games. Novak also played for the Ukrainian national ice hockey team during the 2019 and 2020 U18 World Junior Tournaments. In 2019 he set a national record, scoring the most points (26) of any player under 17 to play for the Ukrainian national ice hockey team.

Arizona Sunshine (2020 - 2021)
After two years with the Lviv Knights, Novak was drafted first overall to the Arizona Sunshine in the 2020 NAHL Expansion Draft. Having been predicted as a top three draft pick since he was 16, Novak was listed first overall on several prospect rankings including the NAHL Central Scouting Bureau and the Global Scouting Services. Novak was declared the "most talented player to come out of Ukraine since Ukraine declared its independence" by Mark McCrae of Sportsweb. On August 17, 2020, the Sunshine announced that they had signed Novak to a three-year, entry-level contract worth the rookie maximum of $850,000. On October 2, Novak made his NAHL debut in a home game against the Edmonton Champions, registering two assists in a 4–2 loss. He scored his first NAHL goal on October 6, 2020 against goaltender Andrei Kravchuck of the Halifax Heartthrobs to win the game 2–1 in overtime.

Novak's first NAHL campaign established the franchise's first records in assists and goals for any Sunshine player, the first rookie in the NAHL to accomplish this. Novak ended the season with 41 goals and 58 assists for a total of 99 points, almost becoming the youngest rookie in NAHL history to score 100 points in a single season. For his 2020 season, Novak was a finalist for the Lebeau trophy and won the Hoffman memorial trophy, overall finishing sixth in the NAHL scoring race and seventh in assists.

Because of the team's young status and its low-scoring roster, Novak has spoken several times about feeling dissatisfied by the team's general quality of play. While with the Sunshine, Novak experienced several personal issues with his teammates, specifically with Tomáš Zelinka, who he has referred to several times as his "biggest rival in the NAHL." Novak was known to openly insult his teammates in post-game interviews and occasionally criticizing them to their faces in 2-person interviews.

Winnipeg Voyagers (2021 - Present)
On July 1, 2021, the Arizona Sunshine -- in an unprecedented move -- traded Novak to the Winnipeg Voyagers in exchange for Ty Toporowski, Thomas Frazer, and Teodor Volkov as well as first- (Wit Cieszyński) and third-round (Zack Willson) draft picks.

Novak scored his first regular season goal as a Voyager on October 9, while playing Chicago in the team's first home game of the 2021–22 season, which also marked Novak's 100th point in the NAHL. On October 20, Novak faced his former team for the first time, recording a Charlie Cote hat trick (a goal, an assist, and a fight) as well as a career-high 10 shots on goal. On October 28, Novak recorded his first NAHL hat trick in an 8–2 victory over the Montreal Mount Royals.

Novak's natural chemistry with linemate Sam Lowell, a chemistry he never found on Zelinka's wing in Arizona, brought new life to the Winnipeg Voyagers, who had previously been in the midst of an uninspiring rebuild. Novak's success in Winnipeg led the team to his first ever playoff run, where he went on to score five points in five games.

After scoring 71 points in 51 games, a feat which included a 25-game point streak, during the 2023–2024 NAHL season, Novak led the NAHL in points and looked well on his way to win the Jett Bain trophy. However, on January 9, 2024, after a big hit by Minnesota Skies defenseman Ethan Sharp sent Novak headfirst into the boards, Novak was forced to prematurely end his season. On January 15, it was revealed Novak had been diagnosed with a concussion. He did not return until training camp of the 2024–2025 NAHL season.

Novak made his highly anticipated return to play on October 3, 2024, in an away game against the Buffalo Bulls. Amidst chants of "No-show Novak" and "No-heart Art", Novak recorded a three-point night, scoring two goals and one assist. By the end of the 2024–2025 season, Novak had acquired 110 points, his second season reaching 100+ points in four years.

Junior
Novak represented Ukraine in international competition for the first time at the 2019 World Junior Tournament, finishing sixth. While the Ukrainian team found little success in the standings, Novak proved himself an incredibly skilled young player, ending his run with five goals and three assists. At 16 years, five months, and two days, Novak became the youngest player to score a goal in the history of the tournament. In 2020, Novak again participated in the World Junior Tournament -- this time as captain, leading his team to second place. Novak improved to six goals and three assists, again leading his team in scoring.

Men's
After completing his rookie season with the Arizona Sunshine, Novak competed in the 2021 IIHI World Tournament as an alternate captain for Ukraine.

Personal Life
Novak came out as gay in June of 2027 at the age of 25, before entering the fourth round of the Championship Cup playoffs with the Voyagers. Novak was the second player to ever come out while still playing for an NAHL team, the first being his current teammate and captain Sam Lowell. While praised widely by sports publications for his decision to come out, Novak later stated that he "only did it because [he] didn't want any distractions going into round four." The Voyagers lost the game 5–2, but Novak did score two goals, which he jokingly accredited to his coming out in a post-game interview.

In 2034, Novak announced in an Instagram post that he and longtime partner Jacob Lambton, a Canadian librarian from Winnipeg, were now engaged, and that the two had been dating since early 2027, before Novak publicly came out.

Work in LGBTQ+ Inclusion
After coming out, Novak began to work with Voyagers teammate Samuel Lowell on furthering LGBTQ+ inclusion within the NAHL and in Winnipeg. In 2030, the two started the Scholarship Fund for Queer Youth in Ice Hockey meant to provide funding to cover equipment and travel costs for young LGBTQ+ players. As of 2034, the organization has partnered with over 200 midget teams who have demonstrated a commitment to furthering LGBTQ+ inclusion in the sport.