Blazers forward injured in snowboarding accident
UPDATE
Kamloops Blazers forward Kyrell Sopotyk is in hospital in Saskatoon with what is described as “a life altering injury.”
The 19-year-old from Aberdeen, Saskatchewan was injured in a snowboarding accident at Table Mountain near Saskatoon.
He is reported to be paralyzed from the waist down.
Sopotyk has undergone surgery —- it’s expected to be some time before the long term effects of the paralysis is known.
In two seasons with the Blazers Sopotyk had appeared in 107 games, scoring 22 goals and 45 points. It’s the work ethic personality of the 19-year old that has made him popular with teammates and fans.
“He’s kind of jokester — he’s funny,” said teammate Orrin Centazzo. “There’s never a dull moment with him.”
“You can’t take things lightly,” said teammate Montana Onyebuchi. “Anything can happen at any moment. When we get the season going we’re just going to play for him. Hope he gets better —he’s in our thoughts.”
“Kyrell is an incredible teammate and high quality person,” added Blazers General Manager Matt Bardsley. “He comes from a great family.”
Family friend Kathleen Zary has set up a gofundme page, to raise money to help support any possible renovations, healthcare costs, and any additional support the family may need.
As of mid afternoon on Monday more than $100,000 had been donated.
“You set that tiny little goal. I set $10,000. That would be fantastic if we hit $10,000,” says Kathleen Zary. “Here we are —- we’ve hit ten times that. The fact that we’ve got to this total this fast says a lot about the family that everybody is supporting.”
“You know we have had a lot of support from within the league,” says Blazers General Manager Matt Bardsley. “A lot of member clubs that have reached out. Even clubs in the NHL have reached out as well.”
In November of 2019 Sopotyk was injured when he was the victim of a check from behind. It kept Sopotyk out of the Blazers lineup for two months.
He was able to recover and returned to the lineup.
The future now is much less certain.
The gofundme page will remain open indefinitely.
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Original story
Kamloops Blazers forward Kyrell Sopotyk has been injured in a snowboarding accident.
Blazers Director of Hockey Operations Tim O’Donovan issued a statement Sunday night on behalf of the club. He said the team is devastated at the news of Sopotyk’s injury. He described the injury as “life altering” but says the team will respect the privacy of the family.
Reports say the the 19-year-old hockey player was snowboarding in Saskatchewan over the weekend when an incident reportedly left him paralyzed.
A gofundme page has been set up by Kathleen Zary as follows:
“We started this GoFundMe page to support one of the most amazing families out there.
On the weekend of January 23rd, 2021, an unfortunate accident has left an amazing friend, hockey player, son and brother paralyzed.
If you know the Sopotyk’s, you know they’re a family that would do anything for others. Now, they need our help to support their son Kyrell.
We’re raising this money to help support any possible renovations, healthcare costs, and any additional supports they may require.”