Accident leaves Kamloops Blazers forward Kyrell Sopotyk paralyzed.

We have some awful news to report, and unfortunately it sounds like the life of one young hockey player will never be the same again.

On Sunday night reports began to filter out regarding a terrible accident that involved Kamloops Blazers forward Kyrell Sopotyk. Although initially details regarding what had happened were sparse, we now know that the 19 year old Western Hockey League player has suffered a very serious injury while snowboarding. 

Unfortunately a GoFundMe that has been set up for the Sopotyks has now confirmed that the young man has been paralyzed as a result of the accident, something that we suspected when this was originally described as a "life-changing" injury. The GoFundMe has been set up to help support the Sopotyk family and raise money for any possible renovations, healthcare costs, and any additional supports they may require. Renovations being included here suggest to me that the Sopotyks will need to make changes to their household in order to accomodate for Kyrell's injuries.

What made this really hit home for me was that during my attempts to piece together this story I stumbled upon the Twitter account that belongs to Kyrell. The young hockey player hardly ever uses the account but the few times he did make use of it, it was for the purpose of helping those in need. The last 5 tweets on his account are all in support of causes being championed by those who were involved in the Humboldt Broncos tragedy that devastated the hockey community in Canada. 

I am happy to say that there is at least a small silver lining here, once again thanks to the wonderful members of the hockey community. In spite of only being created 3 hours ago in response to this tragedy, a whopping $35,000 has already been raised in support of Kyrell and that number continues to grow by the minute.

We understand that this is an incredibly difficult time for many so please do not feel in any way obligated to help out if you cannot. If you do wish to do so however you can find the GoFundMe set up for the Sopotyks here.