October 29th, former Boston University Hockey player Travis Roy died at the age of 45. The hockey community globally was saddened to hear this news. Roy has been known to people like the guy who was left paralyzed from the neck down eleven seconds into his first collegiate hockey shift.

Travis Roy was a college hockey player, author, and philanthropist. Throughout his youth, Roy grew up in Maine where he would play hockey at Yarmouth High School and North Yarmouth Academy. Later in his high school career, he transferred to Tabor Academy where he ended up getting a scholarship to play for Boston University Terriers. 

On October 25th, 1995, Travis Roy came into the first minutes of his collegiate career. However, eleven seconds in, Roy was off-balanced and ended up colliding his head into the boards. As he hit the boards awkwardly, he managed to crack his fourth and fifth vertebra, which resulted in him being paralyzed in his four limbs and torso. Despite not being able to play hockey, Roy ended up coming back to Boston University and graduated in 1999, while still being the number one support for the hockey team and still keeping a great relationship with the coaches and players.

Roy achieved a lot more outside the sport of hockey. Roy founded the Travis Roy Foundation, which is a foundation to help survivors from spinal cord injuries and to help fund further research and treatment. Also, his foundation helps people who have suffered spinal injuries get the needed equipment to help make their life easier and to make sure they have adaptive equipment to help them live their life while being paralyzed. Roy has achieved a lot in his lifetime and is being honored for all of the work he has done to benefit people’s lives and inspire everyone globally. Roy has arenas in the name of him and his number retired to honor his passion and selflessness he has shown to the hockey community. 

Travis Roy has been and always will be a hero for the hockey community and will continue to inspire people around the globe to show how anyone can make an impact on anything they love. Rest in Peace Travis Roy.