McSweeney’s WHL Community Collective: Regina Pats
Regina, Sask.- Trying a new sport requires taking a stride into the unknown- but for 18 legally blind skaters, the Regina Pats made sure they wouldn’t make the leap alone.
The Pats teamed up with the Canadian Blind Hockey Association to introduce the group to the adaptive sport of blind hockey in a special clinic on January 24.
“It was really motivating actually, seeing all these kids kind of go out of their comfort zones and try it out,” Pats forward Braxton Whitehead said. “The little boy that I worked with, he was really nervous. He wouldn’t let go of the outside of the rink boards there, so we went all the way around the rink once and then towards the end he heard some of the other kids playing hockey. He decided to grab my stick and we went out there and shot some pucks.”
Blind hockey is played by athletes who range from legally blind to completely blind.
The game is adapted by using a large, hollow steel puck filled with ball bearings that rattle around so participants can hear where the puck is.
“No two players have the same vision, right? So they’re always listening and hearing where the puck is on the ice in relation to where they are, “Canadian Blind Hockey Association Program Director Luca DeMontis explained. “What’s so important with that is it really focuses on communication for the players on the ice and even for the coaches.”
After the skate wrapped up, Pats team staff, including Head Coach Brad Herauf, gave the group a tour of the team’s dressing room and a chance to get experience all the hallmarks of a rink through their other senses.
“Their coach was doing a really good job of just explaining all the equipment,” Herauf said. “We had the equipment out, and they were just going through their touch and their feel. That’s the way that they, you know, piece together what their surroundings are.”
The ice resurfacing machine proved to be the biggest hit with the youngsters and they gifted the Pats with a blind hockey puck as a thank-you for the experience.
“For a lot of the participants that came, they were very familiar with the Pats,” DeMontis said. “It’s super cool for them to get on the ice and really just welcome us into their building and into their facility and make us feel like a member of their team at the end of the day.”
“I’m just really proud of all those kids that came out and I think they’re really brave,” Whitehead added. “I want to emphasize that I’d like to do it again. It’d be fun if we could do it like, monthly because I know all the boys really enjoyed it as well and it was a great experience for everybody.”
Going forward, the Canadian Blind Hockey Association hopes to establish a permanent program in the Queen City.
Saskatoon formed a team in 2023, becoming the fifth registered Western Canadian blind hockey squad.
The Association is also looking forward to holding the 10th annual Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament at the Mattamy Athletic Centre- formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens- from March 22 to 24.
“We will have over 150 blind and partially sighted hockey players from around the world, from Canada, USA, England, Finland, all traveling to Toronto to take part in the biggest blind hockey tournament in history,” DeMontis said.
And who knows- maybe one of the players who hit the ice for the first time in Regina could crack that roster one day.
The Western Hockey League strives to promote and foster a welcoming environment in communities close to our 22 clubs in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Every team has the creative freedom to allow their players and staff to work with the organizations and groups that they are most passionate about. The end goal is to create and maintain long-lasting relationships and ongoing partnerships within their community.
Through the McSweeney’s WHL Community Collective, we aim to highlight these outstanding initiatives done by each club throughout the season.
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