‘It’s just tough:’ Parents hoping for better news after son paralyzed in snowboarding accident

A day trip to the ski hill has left an Aberdeen-born hockey player paralyzed and the hockey community is rallying behind him.

Kyrell Sopotyk, a member of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, was snowboarding when he collided with a skier last Friday.

Speaking with Saskatchewan Afternoon’s Justin Blackwell on Wednesday, Sopotyk’s mom, Lori, said it has been very hard to see.

“Just to see him go from that strong, athletic person down to laying in that bed just hoping for something to happen. It’s not easy,” she said. “We have an extremely hard, long road ahead of us for our son.”

Kyrell and some friends left for the ski trip early Friday morning. At 2:20 p.m., Lori received a phone call from one of Kyrell’s friends saying he had been injured.

Lori and her husband, Bobbie, met the ambulance at the hospital in North Battleford.

Bobbie says they’ve been hoping doctors will have better news for them.

“They told me that he had a broken T5 (vertebra) and basically was never going to walk again,” Bobbie said.

Lori says Kyrell is determined, but he has a long road ahead of him.

“He’s trying to stay in good spirits, but he’s 19 and he has been hit with a terrible blow. It’s a huge change to his life, his dreams, his hopes,” she said.

A GoFundMe has been set up for Kyrell and his family to help with health-care costs or any renovations they may have to do to their home. As of Wednesday afternoon, the page had already raised more than $167,000.

Donors include former Blazer and Stanley Cup champion Mark Recchi, teammate and friend Connor Zary, and Scott Thomas, who lost his son Evan in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

“We are extremely overwhelmed,” Lori said. “We never, ever thought that there was that much love and support behind us.

“The odd time we will have a quick look (at the GoFundMe) between things. Way back from Ky’s start of his career in Porcupine Plain at four years old all the way up to now and different teams and organizations he has belonged to, everyone has reached out and been so supportive.”