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Albert Lea High School Newspaper

THE AHLAHASA

Albert Lea High School Newspaper

THE AHLAHASA

Albert Lea High School Newspaper

THE AHLAHASA

From one hockey player to another:“You don’t have to know someone to pray for them” #Jabs 13

From one hockey player  to another:“You don’t have to know someone to pray for them” #Jabs 13

1) Jack Jablonski. We’ve probably all heard this name by now. He was paralyzed when he was checked from behind in a JV Benilde-St. Margaret’s (BSM) hockey game on Dec. 30. There are support videos for him on YouTube and at least half of my Facebook friends have changed their profile pictures to the number 13 with the words “Jack Jablonski In Our Hearts. ” The hashtag #jabs is trending on Twitter as people follow, write about and send prayers and well wishes for him. He recently moved both of his arms, which was more than any of the doctors were expecting from him. It was a miracle.
2) Jenna Privette is a senior at St. Croix Lutheran High School. She plays for the Minnehaha Saints. She was checked from behind a week after the devastating Jablonski incident. She re-injured a previous spinal injury and was hospitalized after she was hit. She is currently in satisfactory condition.
3) On Thursday, Jan. 5, a fight broke out on the ice during a boys high school game between Owatonna and Winona. A player was checked from behind (there were no injuries) and five players from each team were kicked off the ice after a 30-second fight between the 10 players. The fight never would have happened had there been no tension about checking from behind from the Jablonski incident.

These three incidents have thrown high school hockey under a microscope in the last week. Thousands of people are supporting Jablonski and Privette, and people who have never even been to a hockey game are suddenly more interested in the sport because of them. While the support they are getting is phenomenal, nobody understands the situation better than other hockey players.
Minnesota is the state of hockey, and we hockey players know the impact we have on the community. We know we have tons of fans we’ve never even met who follow our seasons simply because we are the hockey players. We started in youth hockey, carpooling to tournaments in huge blizzards, staying up later than we should in the hotels talking about the sport we love so much, and just bonding with our team. The hockey families probably remember those days really well. The parents and siblings would come to every game, no matter if we were on our way to the state tournament or losing every game.
The hockey players of Minnesota may compete on the ice, but we have a special connection off the ice. We ARE the hockey players of Minnesota. The history in this state, the history of hockey itself, is an amazing thing. Teams come together and achieve ultimate feats. And in the last week, we have come together and supported Jablonski. Girls and boys teams all over the state, even ones that have never even played Benilde-St. Margaret’s, are dedicating games to both injured players.
The first game BSM came back to after Jablonski got injured was against St. Louis Park. Even though they were the opposing team, St. Louis Park players wore number 13 stickers on their helmets in support of Jablonski. This just shows the connection hockey players have and how we support the players we’ve never even met when situations like this arise.
Jack Jablonski, from one hockey player to another, I support you. Keep the miracles coming Jabs.

To support Jabs, go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jackjablonski.

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