Para Series Preview: Canada vs. United States

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 taking part in as a catcher in baseball and a goaltender in soccer rising
up, the Surrey, B.C., product started taking part in hockey at 10 years outdated.

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

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

“I keep 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 celebration discovered Garrett had crashed
on the aspect of the street.

He was airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital and identified with a T4
full spinal wire damage. Despite his prognosis, Garrett progressed
rapidly and accomplished rehabilitation inside three months.

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

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

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

“I don’t keep in mind my damage in any respect. I wakened 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 damage, Garrett instantly
shifted his focus to how he might get again on the ice and started researching
para hockey.

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

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

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

“When I bought off the ice, my mother was identical to, ‘Is this for you? Do you
actually need to do that? It seems to be such as you’re struggling on the market.’ I simply
informed her finally it is going to be easy, and all the things might be good.”

Although he was again on the ice, his new actuality did current some challenges
for taking part in para hockey. Without the flexibility 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 and so they have their legs and
their knees to face up on. I keep 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 taking part in the identical recreation. We’re nonetheless going
after the identical purpose.”

Mitchell together with his dad, Ken Garrett.

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

“I’ve a shed at my place and that’s just like the software shed. That’s the place all
the onerous 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 constantly tweaking my sled for the
longest time; shifting it up, shifting it down, determining the place my blades
go.”

His house rink, the Langley Sportsplex, supplied free ice time so he might
observe all year long. On the ice, Garrett’s dad Ken joined him to be
a shooter for his practices and he grew to become the top 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 pleasing for me.”

His onerous 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 any individual concerned that has expertise taking part in 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 immediately with Mitch was that each glove palms 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 sincere, it wasn’t a
nice displaying for me. I believe perhaps I used to be a bit of starstruck on the camp.
[I had never] performed with these caliber gamers and these are gamers who
I’ve wished to play with for therefore lengthy.”

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

“I simply informed 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 had been
evident to the teaching workers.

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

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

“That’s among the best elements of this job is delivering that sort 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 had been donning the jersey for the primary
time.”

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

“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, taking part in on the worldwide stage and hopefully inspiring
extra members of the paraplegic neighborhood to start out taking part in 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.”