Canada takes silver at 2023 Para Hockey Cup

Being a goaltender is in Mitchell Garrett’s DNA. No matter what sport he
performs, he at all times desires to be the final line of defence.

After enjoying as a catcher in baseball and a goaltender in soccer rising
up, the Surrey, B.C., product started enjoying hockey at 10 years previous.

“My dad grew up as a soccer player,” Garrett says. “Telling him that I
needed to modify into hockey was not essentially the news he needed to
hear.”

Garrett performed between the pipes for 12 years, often in home league or
sometimes in rep. After highschool, he continued to play recreationally
with a few of his minor hockey teammates.

“I bear in mind when my accident occurred, it was like a month earlier than the brand new
season began,” the 29-year-old says. “So that was a shock to them listening to
that I wasn’t going to have the ability to play for them ever once more.”

On July 29, 2017, Garrett was tenting when he determined to take a good friend’s ATV
for a drive. When he didn’t return, a search social gathering discovered Garrett had crashed
on the facet of the street.

He was airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital and recognized with a T4
full spinal twine harm. Despite his prognosis, Garrett progressed
shortly and accomplished rehabilitation inside three months.

“It was a very quick course of. I bear in mind all people telling me that is going
a lot quicker than what it’s sometimes alleged to,” he says. “I actually needed
to make myself goal-oriented once I was in rehab as a result of I didn’t need to be
there. I simply needed to get getting into my life, and I knew it was going to be
a serious change.”

Matteo Pellizzari (left), Mitchell Garrett and Brendon Hurst.

Throughout the whole course of, hockey was at all times on Garrett’s thoughts.

“I don’t bear in mind my harm in any respect. I awoke within the hospital and I’m like,
‘Where am I right now?’ [They told me I’m] within the hospital, and I used to be like,
‘Oh, well I have a playoff game tonight, I need to go play hockey.’”

Now paralyzed from the chest down after his harm, Garrett instantly
shifted his focus to how he may get again on the ice and started researching
para hockey.

“I studied [Team Canada goaltender] Dom Larocque. I watched each single
interview I may discover of him,” he explains. “I bear in mind watching it three
or 4 instances over and pausing on the on-ice clips, simply actually analyzing
his setup and attempting to determine it out for myself. [He] was an enormous
inspiration.”

More than 9 months after his accident, Garrett returned to the ice and
received again in web—this time in a sled.

“It was fairly monumental for me getting again to being a goaltender. My
dad and mom have been there; my dad was on the ice and my mother was watching,” Garrett
remembers. “I keep in mind that skate, I simply seemed like a fish out of water.

“When I received off the ice, my mother was identical to, ‘Is this for you? Do you
actually need to do that? It appears to be like such as you’re struggling on the market.’ I simply
advised her finally it will likely be clean, and every part will likely be good.”

Although he was again on the ice, his new actuality did current some challenges
for enjoying para hockey. Without the power to maneuver something beneath his
chest, it supplied some limitations for being a goaltender once more.

“[Other goalies] have their total core to make use of they usually have their legs and
their knees to face up on. I bear in mind all people telling me how a lot of a
drawback I used to be at, [but I] by no means even take into account {that a} drawback for a
second,” he says. “We’re nonetheless enjoying the identical recreation. We’re nonetheless going
after the identical purpose.”

Mitchell along with his dad, Ken Garrett.

Garrett set his eyes on his subsequent purpose—incomes a spot on Canada’s National Para Hockey Team—and started working. After each ice time, he would have a look at his
sled setup and make changes.

“I’ve a shed at my place and that’s just like the instrument shed. That’s the place all
the arduous work off the ice goes down, simply to make sure I’m in tip-top form
once I’m on the market,” he says. “I used to be persistently tweaking my sled for the
longest time; transferring it up, transferring it down, determining the place my blades
go.”

His residence rink, the Langley Sportsplex, supplied free ice time so he may
follow all year long. On the ice, Garrett’s dad Ken joined him to be
a shooter for his practices and he turned the pinnacle coach of British
Columbia’s para hockey staff.

“I know I wouldn’t be able to do it without him,” Garrett says. “My dad has
been an unlimited assist all through this complete course of, ensuring that it’s
probably the most gratifying for me.”

His arduous work on and off the ice started to repay, and Garrett was invited
to take part in his first choice camp with Canada’s National Para
Hockey Team forward of the 2022-23 season.

“It’s at all times good to have someone concerned that has expertise enjoying the
place and the sport previous to their accident,” says Russ Herrington, head
coach of Canada’s National Para Hockey Team. “That was the one factor that we
seen straight away with Mitch was that each glove fingers and his potential to
monitor the puck, that was one thing that transferred over from his earlier
expertise.”

“It didn’t really go as I planned,” Garrett says about choice camp. “To be trustworthy, it wasn’t a
nice displaying for me. I feel perhaps I used to be a bit starstruck on the camp.
[I had never] performed with these caliber gamers and these are gamers who
I’ve needed to play with for therefore lengthy.”

After camp concluded, Garrett took the expertise to coronary heart and received again to
coaching even more durable for his subsequent alternative.

“I simply advised myself that I’m beginning to pattern in the precise path and
simply to remain on monitor and proceed what I used to be doing as a result of I seen that
it was working for me,” Garrett says.

Corbyn Smith (left) and Mitchell Garrett rejoice after beating Czechia on the 2023 Para Hockey Cup.

When he returned to choice camp in September, his enhancements have been
evident to the teaching workers.

“I think he’s more comfortable in a sled,” Herrington says. “I feel he was
a bit timid [getting to the top of the crease] early on, and now we see
him be a bit extra assertive in his positioning and difficult the
shooter.”

After dreaming of constructing Team Canada for over six years, Garrett lastly received
the telephone name that he can be making his worldwide debut on the 2023 Para Hockey Cup in Quispamsis, New Brunswick.

“That’s among the finest components of this job is delivering that kind of news.
We’re actually excited to have him right here with us,” Herrington says. “Our
veterans do such a very good job of celebrating alternatives like that as a result of
it wasn’t too way back that they have been donning the jersey for the primary
time.”

“From my household to my buddies to my girlfriend, all people has actually performed
an element on this course of,” Garrett says. “That was a very cool second on the
telephone (telling my dad and mom I made the staff); you possibly can simply really feel how proud
[my dad] was by means of the telephone.

“For my mother, after that first ice time along with her being like ‘Is this proper
for you,’ after which having the ability to inform her that I made the staff—it was a
full-circle second.”

In Quispamsis, Garrett is trying ahead to placing on the Maple Leaf for
the primary time, enjoying on the worldwide stage and hopefully inspiring
extra members of the paraplegic neighborhood to start out enjoying para hockey.

“I’ve to carry again my tears each single time I give it some thought as a result of
[playing for Team Canada] is a purpose that I’ve had since I used to be eight,” he
says. “Most individuals take into account different sports activities simply due to my incapacity… I’m
very excited to be altering that narrative.”