Josh Pauls

Spudsy [his teammates believe he has a resemblance to the Mr. Potato Head toy]. (teamusa.org, 14 Mar 2013)

Playing video games, gardening. (Athlete, 03 Mar 2022)

Winning gold at the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010, 2014 and 2018. (Athlete, 29 Mar 2018; Athlete, 03 Mar 2022)

Coach Jeff Sauer. (Athlete, 03 Mar 2022)

US Para ice hockey player Steve Cash, Canadian ice hockey player Scott Niedermayer. (Athlete, 29 Mar 2018, 03 Mar 2022)

"I juggle before games." (Athlete, 03 Mar 2022)

"I don't just play hockey, I live it." (Twitter profile, 06 Mar 2014)

He captained the US national Para ice hockey team to gold at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (teamusa.usahockey.com, 01 Aug 2018, 30 Nov 2018)

He was named Best Defenceman at the 2015 World Championships A-Pool and the 2016 Pan Pacific Championships, which both took place in Buffalo, NY, United States of America. (usahockey.com, 28 Oct 2016, 24 Jun 2015)

To coach an NHL ice hockey team. (teamusa.org, 06 Mar 2018)

He was born without tibia bones in both legs. The limbs were amputated at the knee when he was age 10 months. (Athlete, 06 Mar 2014; teamusa.org, 14 Mar 2013)

BUSY WEEK
In 2021 he captained the US team to gold at the 2021 World Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, and got married to his partner Katie in the same week. "It was a pretty wild week going from a gold-medal game win one Saturday to getting married the next. It was definitely the highlight week of my life for sure. It was a lot of work and planning, but I don't think I could have planned it out better." (paralympic.org, 07 Oct 2021)

POSITION
He started as a goalie and defenceman during his early years in Para ice hockey. He became a forward when he first played for the US national team, including at the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010, and again in 2014. He switched back to defence in 2015. “I learned to play forward by playing the NHL video games to be honest, because they had the little blue arrow that told me where to go and I realised that's why my defencemen are always yelling at me to get on the wall. I was able to make the transition back and defence is something I really enjoy. I just have a better feel for the game. I can read plays, I can jump into the offence when I see the opportunity but also know I can be responsible defensively. For me, I tend to be an offensive driven player but my time as a third-line forward [in 2010] has really taught me I can contribute if I'm not scoring and that's something I really take pride in.” (stltoday.com, 01 Mar 2022)

FURTHER EDUCATION
In 2020 he completed a master's degree in business administration at the Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University in the United States of America. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2021)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 2019 he released his autobiography titled 'Lessons Learned: My Journey to the Podium'. He was named an ambassador for the NHL's 'Hockey is for Everyone' campaign in February 2018. "I just want to leave the game a little bit better than it was before I came. It's a really exciting initiative to be a part of because hockey's such a great game, and anytime you can push inclusion, whether it's with disability, gender identity or anything like that, it's definitely exciting to be able to do that." (teamusa.usahockey.com, 15 Feb 2018; friesenpress.com, 01 Jan 2019)