CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - When Billy Bridges was growing up he always wanted to play professional hockey and the Summerside native dreamed of one day playing in the NHL.
“When I saw those guys on TV I thought they were just like me and I didn’t understand at the time that I was any different.”
Born with Spina Bifida, Bridges never let the effects of the genetic disorder slow him down.
Growing up, he used crutches and was able to skateboard and play soccer at recess with his friends.
“I tried to do all the other things that the rest of the kids were doing and I didn’t feel any different,” he told The Guardian during the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour in Charlottetown Sunday. “I wanted to play a sport at the pinnacle of the game and the NHL was where I thought I was going.”
Bridges, who now lives in Mississauga, Ont., was in Charlottetown promoting his sport, as well as the upcoming World Sledge Hockey Challenge taking place in Charlottetown in December.
“It’s so awesome that I get to be a part of something like this,” he said. “I used to come to these festivals all the time and now I’m lucky enough to be a part of it. It’s such an honour and it’s so much fun when I get to come back to P.E.I.”
Presented by Scotiabank and Dodge, the two-day hockey festival ran Saturday and Sunday at Queen’s Wharf at the foot of Queen Street.
The free event, which featured games, prize giveaways, fun activities and live entertainment, drew hundreds of hockey fans from across the Island.
The tour concluded Sunday night following the Rogers Hometown Hockey outdoor viewing party. The evening’s broadcast kicked off with a pre-game show hosted live on site by Sportnet’s Ron MacLean and Tara Slone.
While his destiny wasn’t the NHL, Bridges found major success playing sledge hockey, and when he was just 14 years old, he made the national team.
Since that time, Bridges participated in four Paralympic Games, bringing home two medals – a gold in Torino in 2006 and a bronze in Sochi in 2014.
Amy Brown, who’s son Campbell plays Peewee A hockey for Pownal, said last year the Pownal team went to the sledge hockey challenge.
“A lot (of the players) had never even seen it on TV, let alone live, so we weren’t sure what their expectations were,” she said. “We had 11- and 12-year-olds who were astonished by the game.”
Some people go to a sport played by those who aren’t fully able-bodied and might have preconceived notions about what hockey is supposed looks like and what athletes are supposed to look like, Brown said.
“Sledge hockey throws all of that out the window, it’s absolutely exceptional. The physicality of the game and the hits and everything just had our kids in awe,” she said. “It really changes, I think, the youth’s view of what an athlete looks like. An athlete is someone who is at the top of their sport, and that’s what these gentlemen are, for sure.”
Brown said she and her family were excited to be at the hockey-themed festival.
“Hockey at its core was based in small towns, so it’s kind of bringing it back to its roots, back to its originality.”
The avid hockey fan said she and her family have lived across Canada, having moved from Yellowknife, NWT to the Island just a little over a year ago.
While a lot changes from place to place, one thing remains a constant, she said.
“We’ve been around this country and the one thing that stays the same for our family is always hockey. It’s always on the TV and my son’s always playing it and my husband’s always coaching it, and I’m their biggest fan.”
As for Bridges, he’s busy preparing for his fifth Paralympic Games in South Korea next year.
