By Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff
For most people, October 20 is just another day. The sun rises and sets, people go to work or school per usual. There’s no special note on a calendar to distinguish the day. But for the Boston University hockey family, October 20 is an important anniversary.
On October 20, 1995, Travis Roy, then a BU freshman, had his life changed forever when he skated into the boards head first, cracking his fourth cervical vertebra and leaving him paralyzed from the neck-down.
It has been 16 years since Roy’s accident, but his presence is never far from the BU hockey team. Roy’s jersey is framed in coach Jack Parker’s office. His number is retired and hangs from the rafters of Agganis, watching over the team as they practice and play. A photo of Roy taken 11 seconds before his life changed hangs by the door to the BU locker room. Roy’s is the last picture the hockey team sees before they take the ice.
Parker has maintained a close relationship with Roy, and for the two of them, October 20 has a certain ritual to it.
“Every year on the 20th of October, we go out to dinner,” Parker said. “We’re going out to dinner tonight. It’s also my daughter Allison’s birthday this week, so we always go out and celebrate Allison’s birthday with Travis. We always try to do it on the 20th so he’s not by himself.”
Roy graduated from BU in 2000. Although he has limited movement in his right arm, he still does not have feeling from the chest down. Roy has not wallowed in his wheelchair since the accident. He is now a motivational speaker and started a charitable foundation, the Travis Roy Foundation, to enhance the life of individuals and their families confronted with spinal cord injuries.
Roy also still spends some time with the hockey team, and every player knows his story.
Junior assistant captain Justin Courtnall first learned about Roy on his recruiting visit to BU when he noticed Roy’s jersey in Parker’s office. Since then, Courtnall has grown to admire and respect the man who played for BU 14 years before Courtnall arrived on campus.
“Travis is a really influential person on the team,” Courtnall said. “He’s still really, I think, a part of BU hockey and Boston University in general, just the BU family. He’s a really big supporter of our team and I think for myself and the rest of the team, he’s really well respected.”
Parker said he did not tell the team that Thursday was the 16th anniversary of Roy’s accident, but when Courtnall, who was six years old when Roy got hurt, learned the significance of the day, he seemed quiet and reflective. Parker too was emotional when he spoke of Roy, his voice becoming hushed and strained when talking about his former player.
“He went through a hard time – excuse me, he goes through a hard time every day,” Parker said. “It’s not an easy life he lives. He does it with courage and character. I think he’s a fabulous role model for a whole bunch of people.
“I always tell people that the worst day that ever happened to me as a BU hockey coach is Travis Roy’s injury and the best thing that’s ever happened to me as a BU hockey coach is the way that BU, BU hockey and the hockey community in general, all those constituents, reacted to Travis Roy’s injury. It’s been unbelievable from the day it started, the day it happened, to this day, of how supportive BU has been of Travis, the BU hockey community and the hockey community nationwide have been to Travis Roy, I think it’s absolutely fabulous. I’ll never forget that.”
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