Mykhailo Ivanov never thought he'd become a diehard hockey fan.

The 42-year-old had immigrated to Winnipeg a little over two years ago to escape the war in Ukraine. He didn't know much about hockey, he said, but after he was given tickets to a Jets game he fell in love with the sport — and the community that comes with it.

"I like that kind of emotion and support from other fans, from the people nearby you," he said in a phone interview. "It's an important part of my life now."

"It decreases or ev…