Timing right for Branden Sison’s Para ice hockey comeback

EDMONTON – Branden Sison couldn’t have scripted a better conclusion to his return to Canada’s national Para ice hockey team.

The 26-year-old Edmonton defenceman scored a goal in last month’s championship game against the USA to help Canada win the gold medal at the International Para Hockey Cup in Czechia.

It continued his comeback launched earlier this year to return to the sport after a four-year absence. Sison’s last presence with Team Canada was at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing.

“I didn’t know I had it in me again,” said Sison, a few days after the European triumph. ‘’It’s one thing to say that you want to get back into high level competitive sport and another thing to do it.”

In that four-year gap he was not only absent from the ice but in the gym as well. A return to high-performance form for this season was a daunting prospect.

“I was at the heaviest I’ve ever been,” he admitted. “For the first time in my life I had to focus on losing weight rather than gaining it which was the case when I was younger when more strength training was required.”

Sison made a new year’s resolution in January to pursue a spot again on the national team and get back into shape. He stuck with the plan.

When Hockey Canada announced the line-up for the annual tournament in Czechia, Sison’s name was the unexpected new addition to the squad.

Sison was born without a fibula in his right leg (fibular hemimelia), resulting in an amputation below the knee. He grew up using a prosthetic and never let it slow him down when playing sports with friends.

At just 16 years old, in 2016, Sison was invited to Canada’s national Para ice hockey team selection camp. Though he didn’t make the cut, staff saw plenty of potential and asked Sison to keep working with them, which lead to a development camp in Montreal and a series against the United States.

He ultimately represented Canada at both the 2021 world championships and 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

Ten years after that first selection camp, Sison made sure he was not only physically fit for the team this fall – he is also featuring a new maturity, a missing element in his first go round with Team Canada.

“I have the mature mindset now and I know what it takes to be part of a team,” he said. “When I was younger, my heart was pounding all the time. I was under a lot of mental stress due to a fear of making mistakes.

“Now I can take a second, I can breathe. I can make decisions calmly without overthinking.”

Sison says he gained that maturity by pursuing a computer science degree at MacEwan University in Edmonton. He just needs to complete one class before graduation.

“University helped me approach situations more analytically rather than emotionally.”

It was after watching the team compete at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milan that the competitive fire was ignited.

“I learned that I missed that feeling of being part of something big,” he said.

“I wanted to be part of that team again.”