Former Broncos player has sights set on Paralympic wheelchair basketball

Ryan Straschnitzki's Paralympic dreams haven't fizzled, but his path to the international stage could take him from the ice to the hardwood.

The 24-year-old from Airdrie, Alta., was paralyzed from the chest down in 2018 when a semi-trailer ran a stop sign and barrelled into the path of the Humboldt Broncos' bus in rural Saskatchewan.

Sixteen people died and 13 were seriously injured.

Since the crash, Straschnitzki has played on Alberta's para hockey team and has been training with the Paralympic development team.

However, his Paralympic hockey goals have hit a bump in the road.

"In the past conversations I've had with management within that program, it's not looking good, but all I can do is train and work hard," he said in an interview.

Straschnitzki said he's hoping to get an invitation to try out for Canada's Paralympic hockey team in September.

"But that's completely out of my control," he said.

What is in his control is embracing other sports, including wheelchair basketball.

"I stayed so fixated on hockey my entire life, I never really got to embrace other sports at the highest level and now that I have this opportunity, I think, 'well why not?"'

As a result, Straschnitzki plans to join a wheelchair basketball league this winter and hopefully make it to the Paralympics.

"I have to really get into practices and games so I can work on the skills a little bit," Straschnitzki said while he was shooting hoops Thursday at Vecova, an organization that provides services and advocacy for people with disabilities. He was recently named its first ambassador.

Straschnitzki hopes to make it to the development level of the Canadian wheelchair basketball Paralympic team and then represent the country before the 2028 Games.

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