Tampa Bay Lightning Sled Hockey Program Continues To Grow

When the Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the 13^th annual USA Sled Hockey Classic last weekend, the mission was to do far more than put on a top-shelf event, which it certainly was. The item firmly entrenched atop the checklist, though, was to continue to build the sport through providing awareness and education.

“We don’t want to host the event to just be a host,” said Gloria Smith, who has been managing the Tampa Bay team since 2019. “We wanted to host to grow the game and bring more attention to it, especially in the local area. Some people who are involved with hockey do not know about sled hockey.”

The Lightning’s sled hockey program offers a recreational team and a 12-member competitive team that travels. It was the latter that competed at the Classic, which was played in Wesley Chapel, about 20 miles north of downtown Tampa.

Monica Quimby, a co-captain on the Lightning and a member of the U.S. Women’s Development Sled Hockey Team, which USA Hockey added to its program offerings in 2018-19, appreciates how the team has brought people together.

“It’s a family and I fell in love with the team aspect of the sport,” said Quimby, who is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a skiing accident in 2006. “Having this team is so incredible and it gives us all an outlet. It is an outlet to be active, to socialize and get out in the community. It is really awesome.”

The 37-year-old Quimby praises Lightning founder Phil Esposito, who remains a presence with the NHL team as a radio commentator and ambassador, for much of what has taken place with the sled program.

“Phil is amazing, he really is,” said Quimby, who spent eight years as an adjunct professor teaching biology and microbiology at a community college in Maine and currently works remotely with an Illinois-based company, Backbones, in assisting individuals with spinal cord injuries. “He has been such an influence in developing not only the Lightning (NHL) team, but the sled hockey team.”

Esposito, who traveled with the team to Toronto to play at Maple Leaf Gardens in 2017, is pleased to see how far the program has come.

“The sled hockey team, I have so much respect for them,” he said. “The program is doing very well and I am very happy about that. It’s a great group of people.”

Three-time Paralympic gold medalist and Tampa native Declan Farmer returned to the bay area and put on a show at the Classic. A member of the Colorado team since moving to Denver in spring 2022, Farmer scored 17 goals in four games, including six goals to go with three assists in a 9-3 win over Chicago in a championship tilt. The 26-year-old was a member of Tampa Bay club through high school.

“Tampa Bay was the first NHL club to have a sled hockey program,” said Farmer, who was born a bilateral amputee. “The Lightning have been a model franchise when it comes to sled hockey. It has been great to see.”

Farmer cited a Learn to Play event the Lightning hosted in conjunction with the Classic. The idea was to expose more youths to the sport.

“Hopefully, more kids can try it and the Lightning continue to grow some talent,” he said.

The Lightning host such clinics throughout the year and in partnership with bay area entities such as All People’s Life Center and Wheelchairs for Kids.

“We have been working with different organizations around the area to try to grow the game,” said Smith. “It’s been amazing to see the growth and it just continues to grow.”

Wendy Major, found out about sled hockey through a flier she received from the Veterans Administration after moving to Tampa from Louisiana in 2016. She joined the Tampa Bay team that year.

“I showed up, got on the ice and thought, ‘How cool is this,’” said Major, who was injured in 2013 while serving with the Army National Guard in Kuwait and, in 2021, had her right leg amputated. “It has been great. Working with people and feeling part of a team again has been awesome. Sled hockey has brought a number of people in similar situations together. It’s been unreal.”