NHL Stanley Cup Final divides USA sledge hockey players

Find out how Declan Farmer, Brody Roybal and Kevin McKee are all connected to the Chicago-Tampa Bay matchup. 02 Jun 2015

Two sledge hockey players on the ice, in a conversation

Declan Farmer and Brody Roybal celebrating in the preliminary game USA v Germany at the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool in Buffalo, USA.

ⒸBill Wippert

By Stuart Lieberman | For the IPC

Three members of USA’s recent World Championship sledge hockey team have ties to this year’s NHL Stanley Cup Final, which begins on Wednesday (3 June) when the Chicago Blackhawks square off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a best-of-seven series.

Declan Farmer, Brody Roybal and Kevin McKee all helped the USA defeat Canada for gold last month at the IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool in Buffalo, New York, USA. But when the Stanley Cup Final begins, the trio will be divided.

Farmer originally began playing sledge hockey at a clinic in Clearwater, Florida, just outside Tampa Bay in 2006, and was then a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning sledge hockey team from 2007-2013.

Farmer scored the game-winning goal in the USA’s gold-medal victory against Canada in Buffalo, where he notched six scores in total, tying Taylor Lipsett for most goals scored by a US player at a single World Championships.

As a Chicago native, Roybal has been a member of the Blackhawks’ sledge hockey team since the 2011-12 season. The third-year USA national team member collected two goals at the Sochi 2014 Paralympics and led the USA with seven assists at this season’s World Championships.

McKee, a Davenport, Iowa, native, was a member of that same Blackhawks squad from 2000-13, and since then tallied seven points at the Sochi 2014 Paralympics and three at this season’s World Championships.

“Their chemistry is unmatched on the ice,” USA defenceman Josh Pauls said of the three players in a blog post earlier this season.

“However, off the ice they almost seem hostile if an outsider were to peek in. The (NHL) banter that goes on is actually very fun to watch, with Declan coming out in full force with his Steven Stamkos jersey as well as his rally flags.”