Hitmen rookie Pisarczyk goes from Children’s Hospital bed to Teddy Bear Toss
It must have felt like an idyllic winter day for Wyatt Pisarczyk, whizzing around the outdoor rink, feeling the rush of the crisp December air in 2022.
But in a split second, the then-15-year-old slipped and fell to the ice and was rushed to Calgary’s Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“I had a bleed in my head,” Pisarczyk recalled. “It wasn’t a brain bleed, but it was in between my skull and the skin…It spread pretty quickly. It went right behind my eye, so they had to act quickly on that and get surgery done to take all the blood out.”
The talented defender had already been on the road to recovery from a hamstring injury, and now he was facing an uncertain timeline to rejoin his teammates with the AEHL’s Airdrie CFR Bisons.
“It was definitely tough. I wasn’t in the greatest state of mind,” Pisarczyk admitted. “It was pretty serious, but nowhere near compared to the other kids who were near me. That was probably the hardest thing for me, seeing all the other kids there who had it was worse.”
He was lying in his hospital bed post-surgery when a smiling nurse entered to hand him a teddy bear.
On the other side of his window, Pisarczyk could see veteran members of the Calgary Hitmen gathered for a picture as they distributed the 20,294 bears from the 2022 Teddy Bear Toss game.
Earlier that year, the Hitmen had inked Pisarczyk to a WHL Standard Player Agreement after selecting him in the second round of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, 29th overall.
To see them at such a low point simply felt like fate.
“It was just special in that moment,” Pisarczyk said. “Just a sign that everything was going to be okay. Stay positive, everything was gonna work out was how I took it.
“I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be out of hockey. It was tough times but definitely gave me motivation to get better quick.”
The Airdrie, Alta. product would make his return to the ice roughly two months after the accident and made the Hitmen as a 16-year-old this season.
On December 3, the story came full circle as Pisarczyk took the ice in front of a sold-out Saddledome crowd for the Teddy Bear Toss and watched from the blueline as London Hoilett triggered the toss, raining thousands upon thousands of stuffed animals onto the ice.
“It was great just being on the other side of it,” Pisarczyk grinned. “Warmed my heart a little bit, right? Being on the side where I’m receiving a teddy bear and then being able to motivate some of the kids in the hospital…It was awesome, it was a great moment.”
“Pretty unbelievable story, a pretty touching story, too,” Head Coach Steve Hamilton added after the game. “Often you can get numb to the impact of the little things and the difference things make in the community. We’re very fortunate to have the support that we do and potentially the impact it has on people’s lives… I think for Wyatt, in his situation last year, it was probably a sign that things were going to be okay and it’s pretty special.”
Pisarczyk will be attending high school and unable to help distribute the bears this time around, but he’s with his teammates in spirit as they spread cheer to kids in need at the Alberta Children’s Hospital- wishing that another child in need will find hope in a simple gift.