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Sled hockey players honed up on their skills, stepped beyond their comfort zones and even got out into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness during a recent visit to the Ely area.
The annual Boundary Waters Sled Hockey Combine attracted about 30 participants, ranging in age from 9-25, for a week-long adventure at Veterans on the Lake Resort.
The trip included some hockey, first in Superior before the athletes arrived here and later at Virginia’s Iron Trail Event Center, but the combine that wrapped up Aug. 9 also included seminars, mentoring, fitness training, some hockey history and a 15-mile canoe trip into the BWCAW.
“You see some of the hesitation, but lo and behold all of a sudden one of the players are holding one side of a canoe and pulling themselves in and they’re doing it,” said Tony Lang, co-director of the combine.
The sled hockey combine has been in Ely every year since 2017. Sled hockey is a form of hockey open to participants who have permanent mobility challenges.
Lang said that common situations include those born with spinal cord injuries, amputees, those stricken with cerebral palsy and military veterans.
Coaches and participants from the U.S. Sled Hockey Team were among the leaders at the combine, and the group was also mentored by the Minnesota Wild’s Josh Middleton.
“While the focus is on hockey, we’re teaching other life skills,” said Lang. “We’re creating an environment to mentor, to teach independence, to teach leadership and true team work- really functioning as a team. We’re teaching hockey but also that there’s so much more. We’re trying to expose our participants to things they can utilize their whole life.”
Among the leaders was Josh Pauls, captain of the U.S. Sled Hockey Team as well as Ralph De-Quebec, a veteran who lost both of his legs above his knee as a result of a bomb explosion in Afghanistan.
He won a gold medal playing sled hockey in the 2018 Paralympics“ Ralph shared how that translates into preparing for hockey and life,” said Lang.
Chris Douglas serves as head coach and runs the hockey training program, which included two days on the ice in Virginia.
The combine participants also spent two afternoons at Ely’s Functional Fitness.
“We were with (Functional Fitness owner) Michelle Moore, and she’s been an integral part of what we have been doing from the start,” said Lang. “Her focus is on training away from the ice and includes stuff like yoga and meditation. You really have to take care of the body and mind. Michelle is an incredible part of the camp - the way she approaches things and the way she is invested in our kids and participants.”
Combine participants came from Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, New Mexico as well as Canada.
The physical training was augmented by seminars on nutrition, goal setting and navigating the challenges faced by those with disabilities.
“We talked about where do you want to be in a year and how do you get there,” said Lang.
Ely’s proximity to the wilderness was also a prime part of the week, with participants taking part on a fishing tournament coordinated by Veterans on the Lake, followed by the canoe trip, which included crossing the Fall Lake to Newton Lake BWCA portage.
Area business owner David Hicks was integral in coordinating the canoe trip.
“He leads the whole group into the Boundary Waters and it’s really something to see, especially for the people who haven’t been here before or the younger participants,” said Lang. “We have these national players who have achieved at the highest level and you have the motivation.”
At the end of the week, the participants stopped at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth and met with the legendary John Mayasich, an Eveleth native and one of the icons of United States hockey.
“He talks to those kids the way a grandpa talks to his grandchildren,” said co-director Dan Lilya. “He sat there and visited with them and gave them his history in hockey and how hockey changed his life and the positive impacts it makes on relationships.”
Participants pay a registration fee to take part in the combine, but many of the costs are underwritten by the Hendrickson Foundation, a Twin Cities-based group that raises money for hockey for people with disabilities.
The combine made its impact in Ely, with Lang joking that “a gold medal may have been on display at the Winton Roadhouse.”
The combine is also aided by local businesses including Zup’s Food Market and Britton’s.
“Jimmy (Zupancich) helps us open camp every year with a barbecue and they provide all of the stuff for that,” said Lilya. “And Bonnie (Jacobson) at Britton’s through the rest of the week has been providing breakfast and suppers. They’ve been with us since the beginning.”
Plans are already underway for the 2025 event.
“We have a saying that the only combine that will be better is our next one,” said Lang.
