The Game Isn’t Over Yet
The Winter Paralympic Games are set to begin on March 6 in Milan, Italy. Excitingly, a few locals from the New York area will be competing.
Among them are Josh Pauls, a 33-year-old sled hockey player from New Jersey and captain of the seven-time world champion team, and his mentor, 27-year-old Jack Wallace.
They’re joined by Kelsey O’Driscoll, a 32-year-old Paralympic alpine ski racer from Caldwell, New Jersey. Alongside them, there are 229 other athletes with disabilities representing Team USA.
Pauls and Wallace share a long history, having played on the same youth adaptive ice hockey team in Woodbridge, New Jersey, when they were kids.
Wallace has often highlighted how much of an inspiration Pauls has been to him, especially after an accident caused him to pivot from his original dream of making it to the NFL. He lost his right leg at the age of 10 due to a boating accident.
“Pauls was my reason for starting sled hockey,” Wallace shared on Tuesday, mentioning that he had once dreamed of playing for the New Jersey Devils.
“He has always been a big role model for me in USA Hockey and the Sled Team. I managed to play a few games with him before he left the youth league,” Wallace reminisced.
In sled hockey, players sit on specially designed double-blade sleds and use two short hockey sticks—one end to move and the other to shoot the puck.
Before hitting the ice, both players engage in their own rituals. The Pauls have a quirky superstition of pointing a Mr. Potato Head toward the opposing team’s locker room before every game. Wallace tunes into the calming music of Jon Bellion, saying it helps him focus.
After the accident, Wallace spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital and underwent rehabilitation with his first prosthetic leg. Introduced to sled hockey by a camp counselor at Camp No Limits in Connecticut, he eventually crossed paths with Pauls, who was born with a condition known as tibial hemiscoliosis, leading to an amputation above the knee when he was just 10 months old.
O’Driscoll’s journey was tougher; she suffered a spinal fracture in 2021 that left her with lasting effects. She managed to relearn how to walk and ski, and she began training with adaptive racers for the upcoming 2026 Paralympic Games.
Both Wallace and O’Driscoll entered sled hockey at around the same age. Pauls, in particular, recalls Wallace’s determination despite his challenges. “Jack started right after his injury. It’s pretty amazing to be teammates now on the U.S. team,” he said.
Joining the U.S. sled hockey team a decade after Pauls, Wallace has enjoyed success, including winning a gold medal and two world championships.
Interestingly, despite their camaraderie on the ice, they have a playful rivalry over their breakfast preference: pork roll versus Taylor ham. “I’m a pork roll guy,” Pauls stated, while Wallace firmly disagreed.
Regardless of the outcome, Pauls plans to enjoy celebrations in Italy, especially because he loves Italian cuisine. “Pizza and pasta are my favorites,” he added.
O’Driscoll, on the other hand, grew up dreaming of the Olympics while skiing in upstate New York but faced challenges due to asthma that hindered her running. These days, she skis and surfs during the summer, enjoying her time particularly at Pitney Avenue in Spring Lake.
Her journey took a drastic turn in 2021 with a serious spinal injury, but she didn’t let that deter her. After training in Chile with adaptive ski racers, she geared up for her debut at the upcoming Paralympics.
Excited, she shared her thoughts on Instagram when she got the news of her official placement in the Cortina tournament. “I’ve dreamed of this since second grade in 2002,” she reflected.
