National athlete striving to make hockey more inclusive for players with disabilities

A national athlete wants Hockey Canada to better support and recognize deaf, blind, and amputee hockey teams.

Although Graham Spero was born missing most of his left hand, he feels fortunate to have such supportive parents.

“I think my parents could probably give a clinic in how to raise a kid with a disability because they pushed me to do things that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to do, often with the help of a prosthetic,” said Spero, a Canadian Amputee Hockey Team player and member of the board of directors.

Using a prosthetic attached to his hockey stick, Spero can play centre to the best of his ability, without significant limitation.

“But being an equipment modification, it is against the rules to use that type of thing,” he explains.

Spero is striving to change this rule, making it more flexible not only for his own sake but for other players with disabilities. He’s also advocating for more support overall from Hockey Canada.

“For the rule book, they could change the equipment modification rules such that I don’t need to go to the board of directors to seek approval for my prosthetic to play,” he said.

“Really what we want is recognition from Hockey Canada, support going to world championships, jersey’s, we’ve had so much trouble getting jerseys from them in the past, and they always tell us the same thing, ‘it’s not in the budget.’

“At what point are you going to put it in the budget?'”

Hockey Canada requested he submit a proposal outlining how they can support deaf, blind, and amputee hockey programs in Canada. CityNews is still waiting for a statement or response directly from Hockey Canada.

“It’s always an uphill battle trying to get an organization that kind of functions as a for-profit company, rather than a non-profit, to support us and give us that recognition that we need that would legitimize our programs and help with recruitment, awareness, and eventually getting us to the Paralympic level,” said Spero.

Currently, if you have a disability and want to play hockey, he says you’d better be sitting since there are no standing hockey programs for people with disabilities in the Paralympics.

Despite the challenges, hockey has been his life-long passion and he wants to fight for a better future for up-and-coming athletes as well.

“My parents had us watching hockey when we were a very young age, and I know my dad played as well,” he said.

“My mom, she’s just a hockey mom so she had four kids, and they’ve just supported us in playing any sport that we want to and they weren’t going to let my disability prevent me from doing that.”

Spero took that message to heart and has mentored many amputees, including through War Amps.

“Just seeing, you know, what those kids go through with amputations, it’s very rewarding work to help them overcome things,” he said.

“I like to pass on my knowledge and lived experience to them, and I also love playing hockey. That’s kind of why I’m pursuing this.”