Eric Dechaine is not your typical hockey player.
Sure, he straps on blades and hits the ice, doing his best to put the puck in the net, and he follows the Oilers as much as the next guy, while dreaming of one day playing for Team Canada.
The difference is that Eric Dechaine does all these things without legs.
Dechaine was born in St. Lina, and since birth, has been a high double amputee. This means, in his own words, “I’m missing both my legs well above the knees.” But as an avid sports fan and athlete, Dechaine was never let this stop him from playing the games he loves.
“After I graduated school in Mallaig, I moved out to Edmonton and got really involved in sports out there. I had never actually played hockey growing up, and I liked other things like volleyball a lot more. I was a member of Team Canada’s disabled volleyball team from 2007 until 2012,” he explains. “And after I stopped playing that, I gave sledge hockey a shot, and really kind of fell in love with it. I’ve been playing it ever since.”
Aside from the equipment, sledge hockey is nearly identical to any other regulation ice hockey game. Matches are played on full-sized rinks with regulation-sized nets, but instead of skates, each player is seated in a sled with two blades on the underside. In the place of a regulation hockey stick, sledge hockey players use two shorter sticks, one in each hand. These sticks are equipped with metal picks on the butt ends, which aid players in mobility.
“Getting the hang of all the equipment and the rules was pretty difficult at first,” admits Dechaine. “But once I got the hang of it, I found that I was having so much fun playing that I didn’t want to stop.”
Dechaine now plays for the Edmonton Impact as part of the Edmonton Sled Hockey Club.
“Most of our players come from Edmonton or the surrounding area. Only a couple of us, like me, are from a ways away. We have one player from Cold Lake, but it’s worth the travel time to get together and play.”
The competitive drive in Dechaine is obvious.
“There are a couple other teams in Edmonton in our league that we play against, and a team in Calgary as well. Right now, I’m playing in the intermediate level, but one of my proudest moments was at a tournament in Ontario last year. I was really happy with the way I played, and my team ended up in second place overall in the senior level, which is actually a level above what I am playing right now,” he says.
“It was an awesome experience and one that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”
Having been playing sledge hockey for nearly five years now, Dechaine has his sights set on greater things in regards to the sport.
“Just like anything, I have to work hard to keep up a good level of fitness and to improve my skills. I’ve definitely noticed some major improvements since I started playing, but I still have a long way to go.”
Dechaine has a somewhat hefty, but clear goal in mind when it comes to playing sledge hockey.
“Ultimately, I’d like to represent Canada and play for the national team someday. I’m still a long ways off from that, but that’s my goal and that’s what I want to achieve.”
Regardless of whether or not he achieves that goal, Dechaine is happy to keep playing a sport he’s grown to love.
“It’s really been an incredible experience, being able to play. Sledge hockey has opened my eyes to a whole new sport, and even now when I am just watching hockey on TV I can’t help but analyze the way they play and think about how I can improve myself. I just love the sport so much. Just being on the ice, playing with friends, it’s all just a real blast.