As the population in London continues to rise so does the amount of children in extra curricular actives, specifically in minor sports. One sport that has continued to rise in enrolment is sledge hockey. The London Blizzard is the sledge hockey organization in the Forest City and welcomes kids at just the age of 7. The Blizzard have both competitive and recreational teams that play at the Western Fair. The Western Fair will open its doors to the sledge hockey world, when the Canadian Tire PARA Hockey Cup comes to London December 1st to 8th.
17 year old James Dunn was named to the Men’s National Paralympic Sledge Hockey team at only 15 years old and is the youngest player to ever wear the maple leaf.
James Dunn in all alone against team Korea goalie
courtesy: j_dunn4
James is a West Lorne native, only 40 minutes away from London, and is excited to represent his country on not only home soil but in front of family and friends.
“I am going to have a bunch of friends and family in the crowd, aunts and uncles, and it’s going to be so cool getting to represent Canada, on the ice I’ve grown up on,” said Dunn.
James was diagnosed with Sarcoma when he was only 12 years old, and was forced to have his leg amputated. Sarcoma is a cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal (Connective Tissue) origin.
Dunn said that “As soon as the doctors told me the diagnosis, my original question was will I ever be able to play hockey again?”
Luckily, sledge hockey gave James the opportunity to continue playing hockey.
“Sledge hockey has gave me so many opportunities, and experiences. I have met so many people and made so many new friends, and learnt so much from the older guys on the national team,” adds Dunn.
All three medalists from the 2018 Paralympics that were in PeyonCheng in March of 2018 are in the PARA Hockey Cup. Canada lost to the USA in the finals of the Paralympics bringing home a silver medal, but are looking to claim gold on home soil next month.
For ticket details, and to see when Canada is in action go to https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/team-canada/men/para-hockey/2018-phc
