Travis Roy inspires Blue Jackets prospects

Each player comes to Development Camp with dreams of skating onto the ice as NHL player. Travis Roy had the exact same goals before those dreams were forced to change.
Roy worked tireless the first 20 years of his life towards the goal of playing hockey before a crash into the boards 11 seconds into his first Division I hockey game left him paralyzed.
The message Roy had was simple, but bigger than any sport.
"Who you are at the core is really what's going to get you through life's challenges," Roy said. "Whether you choose challenges or challenges choose you, having pride in everything you do can make most anything possible; a positive attitude helps you through some of the darkest days of your life; and having a passion can drive you to do great things if you set the goals to make them happen."

As a child, Roy had set goals for himself to play Division I hockey, and then in the NHL and the Olympics. In 1995, he earned a spot at Boston University, the defending National Champions and home of 60 NHL players at the time. He then was named in the opening night lineup as one of four freshmen who made the hockey team.
Roy can still recall that first game in vivid detail. It was Friday, Oct. 20, "the best day of my life," Roy said. He can recount the pictures on the wall, the time he arrived at the rink, the carpet in the locker room.
After an early Boston goal, Roy was sent into the game along with linemate Chris Drury. Not even a quarter of a minute later, Roy was down on the ice, unable to move.
"I knew almost immediately that I was paralyzed," Roy said. "I knew when I saw a hockey glove coming towards me, and I realized it was mine, but I couldn't feel it, and I couldn't move it.
I knew when my dad made his way towards me. I told him my neck hurt. I knew I was in big trouble."

Roy's fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae had been fractured. After having a bone graft and three screws put in, Roy spent weeks on a ventilator while recovering from other complications including stomach ulcers, a collapsed lung and pneumonia before being transferred to a spinal specialty hospital in Atlanta. It was there Roy would learn how to live his new life as a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair.
But Roy's indomitable spirit allowed him to push past the pain of his reality and find new goals.
"Sometimes a change of scenery is all it takes for a change in perspective," Roy said. "It's the way you choose to look at things. I chose to believe that place could help me regain what I wanted most, control of my life. My goals were different, but I still had something to prove."
Roy worked through eight weeks of rehab before returning home. And even as he coped with the demands of his situation, like trying to find a way to get through a door in a wheelchair, or getting into bed, he challenged himself to see the opportunity that still existed for his life. And he seized it.
Just as Roy had achieved his childhood goal of playing Division I hockey, however briefly, he has now achieved his new life goals. He wanted to get through rehab, finish his schooling, be independent and make a living.
Roy runs a Foundation, the Travis Roy Foundation, that has raised over $10 million towards spinal injury research and lifestyle support for spinal injury patients. He's written a book and travels the country sharing his story with different groups.
And as Roy concluded his story, he reminded the Jackets' prospects how important it is to make the most of every moment that presents itself, good or bad.

"I look at each new day like a faceoff," Roy said. "It's a new opportunity to prove I did make it, and nothing's going to stand in my way. You are the fortunate ones, to live the dream so many of us will never have the chance to, to play for an NHL team. If your passion burns out, it's ok to step aside, but until that moment, don't ever settle for anything short of your full potential."
To one Jackets player in attendance, Roy's story was all too familiar. Defenseman Ryan Collins played high school hockey with Jack Jablonski, a fellow Minnesotan who was paralyzed after suffering a neck injury from an illegal hit in a hockey game.
"It brought back memories of my friend as he went through rehabilitation," Collins said. He's doing really well now. He's at USC interning for the LA Kings, so it's pretty cool to see another guy like Travis Roy who is 21 years out from his injury doing so well. It's very hopeful for Jack now just four years out from his injury."
After Roy's speech concluded, Collins made a point to introduce himself. He brought with him greetings from Jablonski texted just moments before. Roy already knew Jablonski. He had traveled to Minnesota to talk with Jablonski's parents about what to expect.
"When someone like that talks to you, who's overcome so much adversity you listen a little closer," Collins said. "The words go a little bit deeper. You think of the challenges we have every day and they seem minute compared to the challenges he has every day. You feel pretty lucky where you are. You learn not to take it for granted."