NHL awards Toronto blind hockey player Mark DeMontis

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At least one hockey player from Toronto has made his mark on the NHL Awards this year — in a most meaningful way. 

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While Maple Leaf centre Auston Matthews waits to see if he’ll get the Ted Lindsay Award as most valuable player voted by his peers on June 27, having missed as a finalist for the Hart, Selke and Lady Byng, Mark DeMontis gained league-wide recognition Thursday night. 

During Game 3 of the Edmonton Oilers-Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Final, he was named winner of the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award, introduced by commissioner Gary Bettman and revealed by Hall of Famer O’Ree himself. It goes to an individual who through hockey has positively impacted their community, culture or society. 

DeMontis is a two-time gold medalist with Canada’s National Blind Hockey Team. Stricken with the rare condition Leber hereditary optic neuropathy at age 17 in 2004, it took away central vision in both his eyes. The GTHL grad was nearing an NCAA scholarship, but found himself in a life-altering situation. 

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“Like many young Canadians, I dreamed of playing in the NHL,” DeMontis said on his website. “Not only did I lose my sight, driver’s licence, and ability to see family and friends clearly, but I lost any chance of ever playing pro. 

“With great support from my family, friends, and community in York South-Weston, I found the strength to go on a new journey in life. I soon discovered the Toronto Ice Owls Blind Hockey Team and it changed my life. I decided to found Courage Canada — a charity to start hockey programs for the blind and partially sighted.” 

At 22, donning inline skates, DeMontis went on a five-province, 5,000-kilometre fundraising campaign from Toronto to Vancouver. Two years later, he skated another 2,000 km from Halifax to Toronto to score additional funds, then joined teammates on a 1000-km 10-day relay to add $100,000. 

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Courage Canada evolved into Canadian Blind Hockey and now supports 14 programs across Canada and hundreds who are blind or partially sighted of all ages.  

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“The most gratifying thing has been seeing the impact, first-hand, especially with youngsters and their families,” DeMontis told NHL.com of his award. “It’s always been a goal of mine to show blind or partially sighted youth across the country and around the world for that matter that blind hockey not only existed, but that they could participate.” 

DeMontis, nephew of former longtime Toronto Sun lifestyle columnist Rita DeMontis, gets $25,000 for the O’Ree Award. This was a significant choice for the Fredericton, N.B.-born O’Ree, who broke the NHL’s colour barrier in 1958 when he suited up for the Boston Bruins, but who had also hidden partial blindness in one eye from his team.   

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Christine Smith, marketing director for Hyundai Auto Canada, the award sponsor, said, “Life throws unexpected challenges our way and Mark is a role model to us all in how we can boldly face these challenges and make the world a better place in the process. 

“Mark has opened a whole universe for blind and partially blind youth to play hockey and a place for them to feel safe and included.” 

Finalists for the award were Mark Burgin of Vancouver, founder of Diversity Athletics Society, a non-profit  for mentorship and athletic development, and Alan Hierlihy of Hamilton, for teaching sledge hockey to boys and girls. 

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