On Monday night, I was sickened and upset when I saw a story on the 10pm news concerning Rick Jarosz, a Buffalo Sabres fan and a single father who is raising his 11-year-old son. Jarosz was seriously injured in a forklift accident while working at the American Axle plant nearly 20 years ago.
The accident took away Jarosz's ability to walk without the aid of crutches.
Recently, a gutless punk or two stole Jarosz's 2012 Ford Escape which was customized with special hand controls so that Jarosz could control the throttle and brakes. To add insult to injury, Jarosz's motorized scooter was jacked as well.
Recently, Jarosz had filed an insurance claim so that he could be reimbursed for his losses, however, it could take up to six weeks for the insurance company to investigate the claim and to try to find and recover it if possible.
Jarosz drives his son to school and with no car would not be able to do so, to say nothing of doing his grocery shopping and performing his daily activities.
On Tuesday, the Western New York community responded the way that it always does when a neighbor is embroiled in a crisis. It rallied around a stranger in need. The West Herr Automotive group send a driver and a new Ford Explorer to Jarosz's home. The driver will transport Jarosz to the places that he needs to travel to for the immediate future until his insurance company processes his claim. The vehicle is a stock model without the customized controls for Jarosz to control the throttle and brakes.
Enter Buffalo Sabres tough guy Patrick Kaleta, who stepped up with his HITS (Helping Individuals To Smile) Foundation to assist with transportation as well, by providing a rental van that will be equipped with the essential hand controls so that Jarosz can drive himself if he wishes. Kaleta, his fiancée, his mother and father stepped up in true Buffalo fashion.
While you were kickin it with your bros in the sunshine this past weekend, thirty-three of the best NHL prospects/rookies converged on Toronto at the former Maple Leaf Gardens on Saturday for the 2014 NHLPA Rookie Showcase.
This event has grown in popularity the past six years. The prospects meet with representaives and photographers from Upper Deck – the official trading card partner of the NHLPA and the NHL – with an exclusive opportunity to photograph many of the game’s top young prospects/rookies in their official NHL team uniforms, in shots that will be used for upcoming trading card and memorabilia launches.
Here’s the list of young stars-to-be who attended the showcase:
Aaron Ekblad (Panthers)
Samson Reinhart (Sabres)
Sam Bennett (Flames)
Laurent Brossoit (Oilers)
Andre Burakovsky (Capitals)
Anthony Camara (Bruins)
Nick Cousins (Flyers)
Jacob de la Rose (Canadiens)
Max Domi (Coyotes)
Haydn Fleury (Hurricanes)
Derek Forbort (Kings)
Johnny Gaudreau (Flames)
Joey Hishon (Avalanche)
Charles Hudon (Canadiens)
Alexander Khokhlachev (Bruins)
Evgeny Kuznetsov (Capitals)
Curtis Lazar (Senators)
Brendan Leipsic (Predators)
Anthony Mantha (Red Wings)
Brock McGinn (Hurricanes)
Greg McKegg (Maple Leafs)
Mirco Mueller (Sharks)
Vladislav Namestnikov (Lightning)
Darnell Nurse (Oilers)
Brett Ritchie (Stars)
Kerby Rychel (Blue Jackets)
Hunter Shinkaruk (Canucks)
Colton Sissons (Predators)
Ryan Sproul (Red Wings)
Teuvo Teravainen (Blackhawks)
Chris Tierney (Sharks)
Andrei Vasilevskii (Lightning)
Alexander Wennberg (Blue Jackets)
Calgary Flames Sniper Sam Bennett wore a mic during the prospects shinny game.
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