Kevin Rempel

Kevin Rempel tied for second in Canadian team scoring earning six assists in five games to help Canada to the bronze medal at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Rempel has one of the most inspirational and compelling stories on the Canadian sledge hockey team. He always wanted to become a motocross professional. On July 1, 2006 at age 23 he achieved that dream. Two weeks later, he crashed his dirt bike during a freestyle jump and his injuries resulted in incomplete paraplegia. He was told by his doctors that he would never walk again, but a year later he proved them wrong.

He wasn’t unfamiliar with paraplegia before his accident. In 2002 Rempel’s father, Gerald Rempel, had an accident while hunting and broke his back. He struggled to live with his impairment and took his own life as a result in 2007, but Rempel has followed a different path to cope with his disability.

Sports, especially sledge hockey, have played a large role in that recovery. Rempel started playing in 2008 with the Niagara Thunderblades and led the team in scoring for the 2008-09 season. He joined the national team after the 2010 Paralympic Games. Now he is a 2013 world champion and on track to play for Canada at the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi.

Since his accident Rempel has begun motivational speaking, appearing at schools and convention centres to tell his story. He has a passion for public speaking, and once he retires from competition he plans to write a book about his experiences on and off the ice.