Paralyzed Humboldt survivor has mind set on sledge hockey

Humboldt Broncos defenseman Ryan Straschnitzki suffered a broken back and is paralyzed from the chest down following the horrific bus crash that left 15 dead on Friday, but it hasn't stopped him from wanting to get back out on the ice.

"He keeps wanting to try and move his legs, of course, because he wants to go back skating," Ryan's father, Tom, told Sammy Hudes and Ryan Rumbolt of the Calgary Herald. "He just looked at me and his mother and he goes, 'Well, I'm gonna get onto the Olympic sledge hockey team.'

"He’s an amazing kid, that boy."

The 18-year-old Straschnitzki underwent a successful seven-hour surgery, in which rods and pins were placed in his back, and fluids were removed from his lungs where there had been bleeding.

It would be easy for Straschnitzki to dwell on the fact that he'll likely never walk again, but instead, he's apparently keeping a positive outlook on life. It's one of the lone positive stories to come out of this tragedy.