Coyotes Alumni Helping Sled Hockey Flourish in Arizona

It's been 12 years since Wayne McBean, while coaching his son's hockey team at the Scottsdale Ice Den, was approached by a smiling little girl selling chocolates.
"Sure, I'll buy some. What are you raising money for?" McBean asked.
She explained that her dad, Paul Crane, was trying to start a sled hockey team -- which to that point had amounted to three guys practicing and a dream.

Little did Crane's daughter know she had pitched the perfect person.
McBean, a former first-round pick who played more than 200 games in the NHL, including 31 for the Winnipeg Jets in 1993-94, had recently helped start the Arizona Coyotes Alumni Association, and knew right away he wanted to help the sled team realize their goal.
More than a decade later, there are two Coyotes sled teams and this week the alumni made their latest donation of $10,000 to help keep the teams playing and growing into the future.
Through events like their annual golf tournament, the Coyotes Alumni Association has raised more than $1.3 million to benefit hockey programs in Arizona. It helps teams at Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona as well as providing scholarships and equipment for kids who can't afford the associated costs. They also purchase a suite to Coyotes games each season, allowing youth teams to use it as a fundraising tool.
Helping an Arizona sled hockey team get off the ground was a perfect fit.
"Paul and I talked about the difficulties and challenges growing the sports. The sleds, the ice time, the equipment and jerseys," McBean said. "I brought it to our board and there wasn't much doubt this was a group we wanted to support."

Sled hockey follows most of the same ice hockey rules with the exception of the equipment. Players sit in specially designed sleds, which can cost $800 and up, that sit on top of two hockey skate blades. Players have two sticks instead of one and both sticks have metal picks on the butt end which are used to propel themselves.
"That first year we bought eight sleds so those thinking about playing could try without spending the money on their own," McBean said. "We were able to take them to rehab centers and veterans organizations to expose people to the sport," McBean said. "To go from those three guys out on the ice to two teams that are traveling to tournaments and having a great time, it's just fantastic."
It's been 29 years since Dennis Grant lost his legs. He was a corrections officer driving a bus loaded with inmates in 1993 when a semi truck jackknifed on the highway and hit his bus head on. Grant's partner was killed. So was the driver of the other truck.
"It should have killed me too. Somehow it didn't," Grant said. "I was 23 years old. I was married for seven months. And then in one moment, everything changed."
Grant grew up playing football. He was a contact sport guy. Wheelchair basketball wasn't his thing.
"I sucked at basketball. I wanted something I could sink my teeth into," he said. "I was at the Ice Den one day buying my son a pair of skates and another guy in a wheelchair comes by and asked me about playing sled hockey. I'd never heard of it.
"Two nights later, I was on a sled and I was hooked. I didn't know what I was doing -- I couldn't skate or stickhandle a puck worth a darn, but I was going to figure it out. My first job was to hit guys and I took it from there."
The funding from the Alumni Association has helped the teams to grow and play at a higher level.
"When we started we had these heavy metal sleds that were older than stink. Just carrying and trying to maneuver them was horrible," Grant said. "Now I have one that changes everything. When you have better sleds and better equipment you feel better about what you're doing. It's more fun.
"You're not fighting the sled, you're just playing the game."

The Arizona sled teams have traveled to San Diego, Las Vegas, Colorado and St. Louis for tournaments and have hosted their own tournaments with five or six teams visiting town.
"It's a chance to meet great people who share what this game means to them. Maybe something you didn't think you'd be able to share again," Grant said.
And once a year, the Coyotes Alumni find out how much they have progressed. Last week, McBean, joined Shane Doan, Greg Adams, Mike Vukonich, and Garnet Exelby, took their annual turn in a sled and faced off against the "pros." The result is always the same, a romp for the sled team.
"The skill level you have to have to play hockey in a sled amazes me and shows what good athletes they are," said McBean, who has played in the game for 6-7 years. "Once you get on the ice the disabilities are gone. It was a little embarrassing; they made us look like we'd never played hockey in our life. It's all upper body and balance."
Grant admits it's not a fair fight but looks forward to the opportunity to play the alumni each time.
"You know these guys have all this incredible hockey ability and knowledge, but they can't skate in a sled for crap," he said, laughing. "We teach them a few things and they think they are going fast until we burn right by them."