Pictures of my car added

The pictures are at the very bottom of this page go ahead and check them out

Accident Update

Hey everyone...I read the comments left on my blog and also some of the message boards around the web and want to thank everyone for their well wishes over the past couple of days. The past couple of days have been foggy and hectic from what I remember. Filing insurance claims and seeing doctors sucks that's for sure but at least I got some answers on my injuries and Joe's as well. The next 3 weeks are going to painful for both of us as we try to recover in time for training camp, as I mentioned before he will be playing for Brooklyn this season. I saw a chiropractor yesterday, he took some x-rays of my back and put me through a battery of tests and the x-rays showed alot of damage was done to my neck and lower back. My neck no longer has a flex in it, which you're supposed to have, instead the vertebrae are just in a straight line. The same can be said for the vertebrae in my lower back, no more flex just a straight line. On top of that the spine at the lower back and top of my neck has shifted over to the right and is completely out of alignment, so that needs to be fixed also. If that wasn't bad enough I have some torn muscles in my abs and lower back area. All of that to go along with a mild concussion, which makes putting together simple sentences a task sometimes. Joe is in a little better condition, but has some disc problems in his lower back that he will need to be re-examined for in a couple of days when the inflammation has gone down.

I got some treatment yesterday from my chiropractor and again this morning to start the re-alignment process. It's going to be a long, painful process to correct everything. Luckily, he is one of the best in New England and deals with alot of hockey players in the area so he knows what he is doing and can fix me quickly (we hope). The damage to my neck and back are so bad that he has me seeing him 6 days a week for the next 3 weeks to try to adjust everything just to get me back to somewhere around 75% for training camp. All the work on my neck and back is being done to correct it in time for camp and we're just hoping and praying the concussion will be healed in time for me to pass our physicals the first day of camp.

My dad took me over to get all of my personal belongings out of what used to be my car this morning. The stuff I was worried most about was my hockey equipment that had been smashed up in the trunk. My helmet is completely mangled, there's some damage to my shinpads and skates as well. But getting a chance to see the car in daylight was nothing short of horrifying. The front seat back are broke and the metal in the seats are twisted, the trunk is literally in the back seat, the gas pump is detached from the car, the muffler is in pieces, the rear bumper is smashed and mangled underneath the car. And that's just the back side of the car. The front grill was pushed in about 8 inches, the bumper is cracked, the hood is folded up like you fold a blanket. It's scary to look at, I took some pictures on my phone and will try to upload them onto the computer so you guys can see what it looks like now.

Walking away from the towing yard I was overcome with emotions and thoughts and I know my old man was too. I just couldn't believe I walked away from this accident. I mean to see metal crushed up the way my car is crushed makes me wonder how in the world I'm sitting here typing to all of you and not laying in a hospital bed. My chiropractor said someone who wasn't built with the back and neck muscles I have built up in the gym would have broken their neck and possibly their back. Those are words that are scary to hear when you're 24 and have the world in front of you.

I will keep all of you updated over the next few days and weeks as to what is going on with my recovery and Joe's as well. Feel free to email me and ask questions...

And again thank you for all the well wishes

Happy Birthday???

So I went into Boston last night with Joe Lyle, my roommate from last season and my buddy Scott McDougall along with some other people to celebrate my 24th. Everything was great we had an awesome time and it was good to let loose and have some fun with everything being so hectic lately. On the drive home I had the scariest experience of my life without a doubt. Driving home with Joe in my passenger seat and Scott a few cars behind us we were in the middle lane, it was raining pretty hard so I was in one of the slow lanes. Out of nowhere I see a car about 200 feet ahead of us in the middle of the road facing the wrong way. I tried to swerve out of the way, avoided 2 cars pulled my E brake but couldn't avoid a 3rd car, hit him then within a split second saw headlights coming flying at us. I yelled to Joe to get ready for another hit and BAM! A lady hammers us from behind. At that point I looked around, my head was foggy from hitting the roof of my car, adrenaline flowing but still very woozy from the accident. Joe was able to help me get out of my car and over the the side of the road and I find a 5 car mess that turned a 4 lane highway into 1. When all of the sudden we hear more screaming tires and more crashes, 4 more cars joined the pile up and Scott was one of them.

Within minutes one of Greatr Boston's busiest highways was closed, traffic backed up for miles with ambulances, police cars and fire engines all over. After a few minutes of not knowing what to do I was strapped to a backboard and taken away in an ambulance with Joe right next to me. Scott was lucky to walk away with alot less damage to his car. My car looks like an accordian, the front end is all smashed up and my trunk is in the backseat. We were rushed into the hospital and taken right away, they were running tests on my head, back and kidneys they weren't sure if there was any internal damage and wanted to make sure. It was the scariest night of my life. The doctor in the ER said me and Lyle shouldn't have been able to walk away from a wreck like that, but because we play hockey and are in good shape our cores were able to absorb most of the blow.

So here I am three weeks before training camp with a very badly injured back and concussion symptoms. An entire summer of hard work and sacrifice was almost completely lost in a matter of seconds. Now I'm just hoping I'll be able to skate when camp opens. I'll be doing everything I can to get back to full health and be ready to storm into Danbury opening night on November 1.

The Big News Continued

So I took some heat on a message board that I frequent about being traded to Copper City. In no way did I mean for it to sound that I didn't want to be a part of Danbury, if I didn't want to be there I wouldn't have gone to the EPHL press release back in March and I wouldn't have driven down in June for the pick a seat party and I certainly would never have signed there. To be completely honest I was extremely excited about going back to Danbury, my first pro camp was with the Trashers back in '05 but a bad knee kept me from passing physicals. I played 4 or 5 games there 2 seasons ago in the NEHL and I love the arena and the fans and everything else, with New York City less than an hour away it's a great place to play. However, professional hockey is a business and trades happen so it really doesn't matter how much I was looking forward to playing in Danbury this season because the trade happened and there's nothing I can do about it.

I know section 102 is going to give it to me good on opening night November 1st and that's alright I expected it anyway. But 102 is what makes Danbury what it is, it's a fun place to play and I can't wait to get back there.

The Big News

Ok so it's taken more than a day like I had originally expected, but the press release hasn't been released yet so I don't know if I should spill the beans yet or not. Last week there was a trade between Danbury and Copper City that sent Brett Riley from the Hatters to the Chiefs for future considerations. What wasn't released was the fact that I was part of that deal as well. There were some issues at the time of the press release that didn't have everything ironed out between myself and the Chiefs, but now I can proudly say I am under contract and very eager to start the season in Rome, NY.

Going to Rome should hopefully be a good move for me as a player and I think I can continue my path to success and move up the hockey ladder. At this point in my career at the single A level it's all about developing and to develop I just need to play. I don't care where or for who, as long as I'm on the ice and playing I'm happy. I don't know a thing about Rome, NY except that it is near Syracuse, which makes it nice to know I won't be in the middle of no where.

The season is right around the corner and I've never been busier. The past couple days I have been doing some side work with my roommate from this past season in Valley Forge, Joe Lyle. As partners in crime we've been taking on the maintenance world for a family owned restaurant chain called Bickford's. It's good work and it's fun working with Joe, who will be playing in Brooklyn this season for the Aces. Most of the time the past couple days we don't have a clue what we're supposed to be doing but much like in the MAHL we've gotten by. Yesterday we became impromptu plumbers fixing a leak, while Wednesday we became mechanics trying to fix one of the company box trucks. But now that I think about it we weren't very good mechanics since we were pushing the box truck on the highway with the company van, but we got the truck back to the restaurant it needed to be at.

It's funny looking around at some of the rosters this season there will be plenty of familiar faces from last season in Valley. Lyle and a couple guys will be in Brooklyn, my old linemate Bill Haas will be in Danbury, I think 2 or 3 guys will be in Jersey and my other roommate will be in Exeter. It's always fun to play against guys you have a bond with, where not only points in the standings are on the line but pride is as well.

With a little over 3 weeks to go I'm counting down the days to October 22 and I'm excited to get going. Stay tuned!