Meet the Men’s United States Paralympic Sled Hockey Team

The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team has medaled in four of the last five Paralympic games and on March 8th they will return to action in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The team is made up of 17 players from all over the United States who were introduced earlier this month during the outdoor NHL Winter Classic game featuring the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. They will be led by returning captain Josh Pauls and alternate captains, Declan Farmer and Nikko Landeros. After winning a gold medal at the last Paralympic games, the United States team are favorites to win in 2018.

Josh Pauls, at just 25 years old, is the captain of the United States team and one of the best defensive sled hockey players in the world. Josh was born without Tibia bones and had both legs amputated when he was 10 months old. At a young age, he dreamed of becoming the NHL’s first goalie without legs, but instead found the sport of sled hockey and quickly became a star player.

Alternate captain Declan Farmer from Tampa Bay, Florida first made the national team when he was just 14 years old and today studies Economics at Princeton University. For co-alternate captain Nikko Landeros, this will be his third Paralympic games. Nikko and national teammate, Tyler Carron, began their careers in sled hockey together after being injured in the same accident. Nikko had played hockey for years and encouraged Tyler to give sled hockey a shot, and he loved it.

Since the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, the United Sates team has looked dominant in international competition. They have claimed five of the last six major international events including the 2017 Para Sled Hockey World Championship. Good luck to everyone on Team USA. We look forward to watching you bring home the gold medal in a few months!

Check out the video below to see some highlights of the US Men’s National Paralympic Sled Hockey team in action: