2021 | North Carolina | COED

Hurricanes Sled Hockey | Hurricanes | COED

Tyler Jacoby is our nominee for the 2021 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. This story to accompany his nomination is written by his father:

Tyler was born in April, 2003 with a birth defect called spina bifida. His diagnosis affects different people in different ways; in his case it primarily resulted in paralysis below the knee in each of his legs. When he was 3 years old in the Spring of 2006 we took him to a Hurricanes playoff game during their amazing Stanley Cup run that season. He had watched many games on TV but had not seen one live until that point. He was mesmerized by the action and immediately fell in love with the sport of hockey. During one of the TV time-outs, he turned to my wife Kelly and I and matter-of-factly said “I want to play hockey like those guys.â€_x009d_

Obviously, we were speechless in that moment. He had spent all of his life up to that point in and out of hospitals, having major surgeries, and at times just clinging to life. We were still trying to get a handle on exactly how his spina bifida would affect him and what his physical limitations would be. He was unable to walk on his own, but not wanting to crush his dream, we looked at each other, turned back to him and told him OK buddy! I think at first we both thought he’d move onto something else by the end of the week but, that didn’t happen. He continued to talk about playing hockey. We bought him some novelty gear and a small net so he could play hockey sitting on the floor in the living room. After a few months of that, he was not impressed. Basically, he wanted to play ice hockey, not living room hockey and he wasn’t going to compromise.

My wife and I went to work, scouring the internet for any information we could find. Eventually we found some information on sled hockey, which seemed to be exactly what we were looking for. The sport was pretty popular in Europe and parts of Canada, but it was fairly new in the U.S., and non-existent in North Carolina. We made some calls, twisted some arms, and finally got him geared up and out on the ice in the Fall of 2007. He was allowed to participate with a special needs stand-up hockey program called Triangle Special Hockey. During his first practice, he was out there holding a stand-up stick and being pushed around the ice on a metal folding chair. He had a blast, but it didn’t fulfill his dream. He wanted to experience the freedom of gliding across the ice under his own power. In order to do that, we were going to need to get him one of the skating sleds we saw on the internet so he could skate on his own. We found a relatively new company that had just started building and selling sled hockey equipment. We measured him up, placed the order, and in a few weeks had everything ready to go.

That next weekend, somewhere in the middle of the 2007-08 season, we strapped him into his new sled, handed him his new sticks, placed him on the ice surface and took a step back. It took him a few seconds to get his balance and figure out the sticks, but as we all watched from behind the glass, Tyler dug his picks into the ice and skated away. By himself. And in doing so, he not only fulfilled his dream to play ice hockey, he also made history as the first sled hockey player (that we know of) in the state of North Carolina.

Those of us who were there that day and who were part of his life journey up to that point knew exactly how huge a moment it was. For his family, for his new teammates, but mostly for himself. What we didn’t realize in that moment however, was the width of the door he had just opened or the height of the barrier he brought crashing down. We had no idea that we were not watching him reach the end of his journey, but rather the beginning. And we had no way of knowing just how many lives he would end up touching on this new journey.

During the years that followed, we saw clearly the truly amazing and positive effects that being able to play hockey had on Tyler, both physically and emotionally. we wanted to offer that same opportunity to others, so they could benefit from it as he had. To that end, Tyler started a sled hockey program for anyone and everyone who wanted to play hockey but who were unable to do so because of a physical limitation. In the beginning, that program had one player: Tyler. All these years later however, Tyler’s sled program has grown. Tremendously. Today, that program is known as Hurricanes Sled Hockey (HSH). HSH has partnered with the Carolina Junior Huuricanes Hockey Association and has become recognized as the premier sled hockey program in the Carolinas, and one of the most highly regarded programs in the Southeast U.S. His program currently rosters between 50 – 60 players and has touched literally hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. The program has grown to include a Novice team, a Junior (under 18) team and an Adult team. All 3 teams represent the Carolina Hurricanes by wearing their crest as they travel across the country competing in various tournaments each year.

Over the years, HSH has continued to grow and now includes so many amazing people who volunteer their time and talents to serve our amazing athletes. The program is to a point now where it doesn’t really need me anymore to continue on, but I’m still involved in the capacity of “equipment guyâ€_x009d_. That means it’s my job to keep everyone’s equipment in working order, but more importantly I get to outfit each new player before they take the ice at their first practice. To this day, my favorite thing to do is get a new player geared up, strap them into a sled and place them on the ice for the very first time. I always take a step back, and as I watch them get their balance, figure out the sticks and skate away – on their own – I’m immediately transported back in time to that day so many years ago. The day that Tyler Jacoby set out on his lifelong journey to bring the joy of playing hockey to ANYONE and EVERYONE. Long live the journey……

Sincerely,

Brian Jacoby
(better known as Tyler’s Dad)