The Patriots Play to Pay it Forward
For the first time in many years, large numbers of American service men who have
seen combat overseas are returning home. These veterans value the ties of military
service, the brotherhoods forged in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of
Afghanistan. Now some of them are finding a way to keep that brotherhood alive
through hockey.
The Patriots Hockey team was founded by Nathan Coutts in 2011, playing their first
game in January 2012. The team is comprised of active duty, reserve and veteran
members of the Armed Forces.
Based out of San Clemente, CA, they practice and scrimmage weekly. They play
exhibition games against area fire and police department teams as well as college
club teams.
The team allows players to bond through the game of hockey and to deal with the
rigors of post-combat life. It provides a chance to achieve a sense of normalcy
through the sport they love.
Gary Laughlin, a Marine infantryman who served in Iraq, hadn’t played hockey in
many years before joining the Patriots. “I was never good enough to play in college
and I ended up hanging up my skates when I joined the Marine Corps,” he relates.
“After sitting in 120-degree heat in the middle of an Iraqi desert, I decided it was
time to get back on the ice.”
Gary enjoys playing despite being limited by nerve damage in his back and leg,
injuries he suffered during his deployments in Iraq. The grind of hockey is a
welcomed physicality after the wear and tear of daily patrols in a combat zone.
At KHS Ice Arena in Anaheim, California, who provides the team with free ice time,
players have a chance to regain the camaraderie they may have lost after being
discharged from the military. Helping each other to deal with some of the pains of
re-entry into civilian life is important part of the team’s mission.
“The game provides an outlet to sweat out some of the post-traumatic stress
disorder ‘demons’ that a lot of combat veterans struggle with, even after being away
from combat a significant amount of time,” Gary says. “It brings us together and
reminds everyone that it’s a team effort, both on and off the battlefield and likewise,
on and off the ice.”
Center Jeremy Pilachowski, who played Division II hockey at Robert Morris
University in Chicago, is currently a first lieutenant infantry officer in the Marines.
“The Marine Corps is the greatest, strongest fraternity in the world, so I always
enjoy being around Marines from past and present,” he says.
Of course, the real thrill of hockey is what happens on the ice. In a recent exhibition
game with the Cal State Fullerton Hockey Club, Jeremy lead the charge as the
Patriots mounted a 4-goal rally in the third period to come back and win. “Scoring
the tying goal with about 2 minutes left was really cool.”
The team also uses its games to raise money and awareness for the Wounded
Warrior Project. The WWP, whose motto is “The greatest causality is being
forgotten, ” is a non-profit organization that provides programs and services for
wounded or injured service members.
“The thing I love most about Patriot hockey is actually seeing the hard work pay off,
allowing us to give something to our injured brothers or a unit just coming back
from a hard deployment,” Gary says. “We [recently] held a very small event at a
small rink, but were still able to raise $1000 for the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines who
recently came home from Afghanistan.”
With the recent influx of units from Camp Pendleton, an hour outside of Los Angeles,
returning from Afghanistan, the need for aid is great right in the Patriots own back
yard, and the area community has taken notice. The Los Angeles Kings recently
asked for a Patriot’s jersey, which they signed for the team to auction off.
In a recent television interview, Kings star center Anze Kopitar remarked, “We play
hockey. It’s a tough sport. But what [service members] do, it’s a whole different
story. We are so grateful and thankful for what they do for us and our country.”
For Jeremy, keeping veterans’ issues in the public eye is also part of the team’s
mission. “Raising awareness is even more important than just money as it will
continue to resonate long after the money has been spent, and hopefully friends will
tell friends and so on.”
The Patriot’s logo features a soldier holding a rifle in one hand a hockey stick in the
other, an apt symbol of the team’s mission to help veterans transition from one kind
of fight to another.
And while military metaphors get used a lot in hockey, the members of the Patriots
are also especially mindful of where the comparisons end. “Every game is a battle,”
Gary says, “but we all get to go home when it’s over.”
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