Paul Rosen

Paul Rosen
Rosen in 2015
Born (1960-04-26) April 26, 1960 (age 64)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb)
Position Goalie
National team  Canada
Playing career 2001–2010
Medal record
Men's para ice hockey
Representing  Canada
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Torino Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Marlborough Team
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Ostrava Team

Paul Rosen (born April 26, 1960) is a Canadian ice sledge hockey goalie and motivational speaker from Thornhill, Ontario.[1]

Career

Rosen suffered a leg injury during a hockey game as a youth, and the resulting damage, infections, and pain to his leg plagued him for years until his lower leg was amputated at age 39. During rehabilitation, Rosen joined the Canadian National Sledge hockey team and participated in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Paralympics. Rosen was the oldest rookie in the history of the Paralympic Winter Games when he made his debut at 41.[2] At the 2006 Games in Torino, Rosen and the Canadian team won the sledge hockey gold medal.[3]

In January 2007, Rosen made headlines across Canada when his Paralympic gold medal was stolen during an autographing session with fans in Toronto. After commentator Don Cherry told the thief to drop the gold medal in a mailbox during his Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, the medal turned up at a postal sorting station in Toronto and was returned to Rosen.[4] He announced his retirement from the Canadian ice sledge hockey team on September 7, 2010 (along with captain Jean Labonte, Todd Nicholson and Herve Lord).[5]

Rosen also competed in sitting volleyball, another disabled sport. He became a member of Canada's sitting volleyball team at the 2007 Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rosen was part of the first official international match for Canada's sitting volleyball team when they played the United States on August 15, 2007.[6]

After retiring from competitive sports, Rosen became an official ambassador and spokesperson for National Benefit Authority.[7][8] When Rosen turned 50, he revealed that he had struggled with literacy his whole life and was returning to school. He then became an ambassador for ABC Life Literacy, to help people conquer the shame and stigma of illiteracy.[9]

Statistics

Rosen at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver

Rosen spent nine seasons with the Canadian national ice sledge hockey team. By the end of his career, he accumulated a won loss record of 55-15-1. In addition, he registered a 1.04 goals-against average and 25 shutouts in 72 career games.

Hockey Canada[10]

Year Event GP MIN GA SO GAA W L T
2007 World sledge hockey challenge 4 153 4 1 1.57 4 0 0
2008 World sledge hockey championships 2 90 0 2 0.00 2 0 0
2009 World sledge hockey championships 3 141 3 2 1.28 2 1 0

References

  1. ^ "Paul Rosen". paralympic.ca. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Paul Rosen". Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
  3. ^ "Paul Rosen". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee.
  4. ^ Hunter, Paul (5 December 2019). "He won hockey gold, then became a motivational speaker. But Paul Rosen's dark secrets nearly killed him | The Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  5. ^ "4 Canadian sledge hockey vets retire". cbc.ca. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Canada's sitting volleyball team makes official international debut August 15". Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
  7. ^ "Paul and the National Benefit Authority | Paul Rosen". Paul Rosen. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  8. ^ Network, Postmedia. "Disabled Canadians find ally in National Benefit Authority". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  9. ^ "Facts and Research | ABC Life Literacy Canada". abclifeliteracy.ca. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  10. ^ "Player Profile - Paul Rosen". www.hockeycanada.ca. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2019.