I should be paralyzed

I should be paralyzed. But I’m not. I must use this gift of mobility to help others move freely.

This couldn’t be more apparent than right now. Another hockey player was severely injured in a hockey accident that has left him unable to speak, unable to move his feet or arms, unable to breathe on his own.

Jackson Drum, 17, from Parkers Prairie, Minnesota, who grew up playing in the Alexandria Area hockey program, slammed headfirst into the boards during a game in Vancouver. The impact created a severe spinal cord injury. Jackson’s C2 vertebrae was broken in several places, so the doctors fused the C1 and C2 vertebrae to stabilize him and performed a tracheotomy. It is uncertain whether he’ll be able to breathe on his own, or if any feeling will return to his body.

When I think about Jackson, my heart breaks. He was just a young kid chasing his dreams. Now, his entire future is in jeopardy.

Hearing about this incident takes me right be to my own. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about the moment I went hurtling into the boards headfirst when I was 11-years-old after being maliciously checked from behind at full speed. Not a day goes by when I don’t feel pain from the resulting injury. However, not a day goes by when I’m not grateful that I actually GET to feel the pain.

Most of the time, the thought process stops right there. However, incidents like Jackson’s take my mind down the rabbit hole. Once my mind starts running about paralysis in hockey, Travis Roy comes first to mind. On October 20th, 1995, 11 seconds into his first shift playing for his dream school, Boston University, a 20-year-old Roy lost his balance and fell into the boards headfirst after checking a player from Michigan. The awkward impact with the boards resulted in Roy's cracking his fourth and fifth vertebrae and leaving him a quadriplegic.

That injury sticks with me because it was exactly fifteen days after Travis’ injury when I endured my own. However, I was fortunate to come out of the incident with feeling throughout my entire body. The doctors were looking at my cervical spine for damage but found none. Unfortunately, the direct impact fractured my L4 & L5 vertebrae and was missed by the doctors. So, I went on with life as if it was normal. A painful new norm. My body was a ticking time bomb for injuries and pain. If only I knew.

After much time had passed, and my hockey career was over, I found myself running the XL Hockey League. A one-day-a-week, no-check, high school hockey league designed to prevent youth sport dropout. I studied Sport Management at the University of Minnesota and wrote my senior thesis paper on Youth Sport Dropout. It was clear that specialization in sports was leading kids to drop out of sports in their early teens, so they could put all their marbles in one sport. So, to help curb dropout in hockey, I created a safety net for young athletes in the form of XL Hockey for 11 years.

During my time running XL Hockey, on December 30th, 2011, Jack Jablonski was accidentally checked from behind into the boards during a high school hockey game, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. He fractured his C5 and C6 vertebrae and severed his spinal cord at the C5 level. Jack’s injury was devastating to the hockey world. Especially in Minnesota. From what I can recall, there weren’t any notable hockey injuries resulting in paralysis between Travis and Jack.

I always felt a special connection to Jack, even though I didn’t know him. I wanted him to know that I was there for him, but I didn’t feel like it was my place. After all, I’m able to stand, and he cannot. Why would he want to hear from me?

Years later, I’m operating my new venture, Back Channel Brewing. One of the creative aspects of Back Channel is the naming concept for beers. Backchanneling is a secondary, or secretive, way to pass information around, so all our beers are named after notable Minnesotans, or people with significant ties to our state. I had a huge database of names, and Jack was always on the list. I admired his ability to turn a life-threatening injury into a promising career in sports with the Los Angeles Kings. Additionally, he championed the Jack Jablonski Foundation, which brings money and awareness to advance recovery treatments for paralysis. Surely, I had to name a beer after him.

When the time to name a beer after Jack, I jumped at the opportunity. He was always an icon within the hockey and charitable foundation world, so it was a slam dunk to highlight his achievements. Even more so when he decided to come out publicly as a gay man. As emotionally draining as it was for Jack to rise above his paralysis and make a difference in the world, coming out was equally difficult. I wanted to celebrate him for that.

The label for our Jack Jablonski beer.

So, I did what I do with all people who inspire me to name a beer after them, I reached out. Much to my excitement, Jack quickly replied with enthusiasm, and we were on our way to making a beer in his honor. I bounced label concepts over to him and our designer made the necessary adjustments based on his feedback. The result was an incredible rendering using the original LA Kings jerseys as inspiration called. Thus, Jabs – New England IPA, was born.

Better yet, the release of Jack’s beer aligned with PRIDE in the Twin Cities. We even highlighted Jack as our ‘PRIDE Icon’ during the PRIDE Beer Dabbler so everyone could recognize his achievements.

Jabs at the PRIDE Beer Dabbler.

If that’s not amazing enough, we were asked to be part of the Jack Jablonski Charity Golf tournament where we brought Jabs for everyone to enjoy. I got to finally meet Jack, his family, and share my story with them. A 4-pack of his beer went for over $500 in the auction after the tourney was held. It was an incredible experience. The impact of this beer literally brings tears to my eyes.

Jack and I at the 2023 Jack Jablonski Charity Golf Tournament.

Tears are why I feel so compelled to write today. What Jackson Drum is going through right now is unimaginable. His situation could’ve been mine. Please rally around him and hope for the best.

As I stand and write, I will continue to do whatever I can to help others fight pain. If you can feel, it is a gift. I’m going to take my gift and make the most out of it.