Perseverance pays off for Team Canada puck-stopper

Being a goaltender is in Mitchell Garrett’s DNA. No matter what sport he
performs, he at all times needs 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 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 buddy’s ATV
for a drive. When he didn’t return, a search occasion discovered Garrett had crashed
on the aspect of the highway.

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

“It was a very quick course of. I keep in mind everyone telling me that is going
a lot quicker than what it’s usually alleged to,” he says. “I actually needed
to make myself goal-oriented once I was in rehab as a result of I didn’t wish to be
there. I simply needed to get moving into my life, and I knew it was going to be
a significant 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 keep 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 keep in mind watching it three
or 4 occasions 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
obtained again in internet—this time in a sled.

“It was fairly monumental for me getting again to being a goaltender. My
dad and mom had been there; my dad was on the ice and my mother was watching,” Garrett
recollects. “I do not forget that skate, I simply regarded like a fish out of water.

“When I obtained off the ice, my mother was identical to, ‘Is this for you? Do you
actually wish to do that? It seems to be such as you’re struggling on the market.’ I simply
instructed her finally will probably be easy, and the whole lot shall 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 under his
chest, it supplied some limitations for being a goaltender once more.

“[Other goalies] have their complete core to make use of and so they have their legs and
their knees to face up on. I keep in mind everyone telling me how a lot of a
drawback I used to be at, [but I] by no means even contemplate {that a} drawback for a
second,” he says. “We’re nonetheless enjoying the identical recreation. We’re nonetheless going
after the identical objective.”

Mitchell along with his dad, Ken Garrett.

Garrett set his eyes on his subsequent objective—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 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 persistently tweaking my sled for the
longest time; shifting it up, shifting it down, determining the place my blades
go.”

His dwelling rink, the Langley Sportsplex, supplied free ice time so he may
apply 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 pinnacle coach of British
Columbia’s para hockey group.

“I know I wouldn’t be able to do it without him,” Garrett says. “My dad has
been an infinite assist all through this complete course of, ensuring that it’s
probably the most fulfilling 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 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 instantly with Mitch was that each glove fingers and his capability to
observe 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 possibly 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 needed to play with for thus lengthy.”

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

“I simply instructed myself that I’m beginning to development in the suitable route and
simply to remain on observe 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 employees.

“I think he’s more comfortable in a sled,” Herrington says. “I feel 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 creating Team Canada for over six years, Garrett lastly obtained
the telephone name that he can be making his worldwide debut on the 2023 Para Hockey Cup in Quispamsis, New Brunswick.

“That’s top-of-the-line 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 superb 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 pals to my girlfriend, everyone has actually performed
a component on this course of,” Garrett says. “That was a very cool second on the
telephone (telling my dad and mom I made the group); you can simply really feel how proud
[my dad] was by the telephone.

“For my mother, after that first ice time together with her being like ‘Is this proper
for you,’ after which having the ability to inform her that I made the group—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 group to begin 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 objective that I’ve had since I used to be eight,” he
says. “Most folks contemplate different sports activities simply due to my incapacity… I’m
very excited to be altering that narrative.”