News Article: Military Veterans Take Center Stage On 2014 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team

[deeshamrock]

http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news...-stage-on-2014-us-paralympic-sled-hockey-team

You find yourself complaining about stuff, everyday stuff from home or work, and then you read a story like this and instantly become humbled.

I found this story about 18 courageous guys who all had to overcome horrible physical trauma and mental anguish and have come together to work for the common goal of getting gold in Sochi at the Olmpics playing sled hockey.
just a very inspiring read

Some of the heroes include:

Meanwhile, defenseman Taylor Chace is a former junior hockey player who converted to sled hockey after breaking his back and suffering an incomplete spinal cord injury while playing for the EJHL’s New Hampshire Monarchs at age 16, 11 years ago.

Defensemen Tyler Carron and Nikko Landeros also have unique stories to tell, considering both men, Colorado natives, each lost their legs during high school in the same accident where they were struck by a car while changing a tire on the side of the road.

Skill set from one player, Rico Roman who legs were badly injured when his Humvee drove over a IED in Irag in 2007. His left leg would eventually be amputated.

You hear disabled hockey and you think with being disabled that it might be a lot easier, and might not be as physical,†said Roman. “But that’s not the case. We’re out here in full pads, full gear and banging around, and that makes the sport so much more fun. I played football, but this is physical

Besides an amount and level of physical contact that would make most able-bodied hockey players wince, another part of being immersed in the sled hockey culture that Roman admitted has attracted him to the sport is the prominent presence of fellow U.S. military veterans in the sport.

His polished skillset was on full display in late July at the team’s selection camp in Buffalo, when he cemented his place on the roster by pulling off a Pavel Datsyukian set of moves in an intrasquad game where he faked a defenseman inside-out by using his left hand to pass the puck beneath his sled to his right hand, and finished off the rush in one motion with a lightning-quick wraparound that was in the net faster than you could say “Stephane Matteau.â€

something that these warriors enjoy about competing is the sense of being part of a team again, fighting hard for the guy next to you. That goes a long way in the healing process

You’re a little lost where you wonder where your close friends are and who you can rely on. Once I found sled hockey, it just kind of all fell back into place. Every time I get on the ice, I try to help the guys on my left and right, just like I did when I was deployed.â

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