National Hockey League scouts are scattered throughout the capacity crowd. Troy knows that if he has a strong game and impresses them, he could dramatically increase his chances of being chosen at next summer's NHL entry draft. With less than a minute left in regulation time and the game tied at three, Troy finds himself slightly ahead of an opposing player as he races to try to prevent his team from getting called for icing the puck. Just before he touches it, the opposing player places his stick between Troy's skates, causing him to trip and slide face-first into the boards.
Troy lies motionless for several minutes.
He keeps saying that he cannot feel his arms or legs. As the minutes continue to pass with no sign of movement, a hush falls over the once-boisterous crowd and players from both teams, with grave concern, surround the young man. His spine has been damaged. In one split second Troy has gone from a budding NHL superstar to a quadriplegic. Each year in Canada, hundreds of athletes fall victim to debilitating spinal cord injuries.