★ The Sports Examiner is delighted to present this important contribution from our patron, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, with a focus on American Paralympic stars. Opinions expressed are those of the USOPC. ★
The U.S. is the only team in Paralympic sled hockey history to repeat as champions. In Italy, the Americans will play for their fifth gold in a row.
By Bob Reinert
Red Line Editorial
The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team will head into the Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 in March looking to extend a historic run.
At the 2014 Sochi Games, the U.S. became the first sled team to ever repeat as champions at the Paralympics. Four years ago in Beijing, the Americans won their fourth straight gold medal.
Declan Farmer has played on three of those gold-winning teams and he led the U.S. in scoring at the 2018 and 2022 Games. Ever since he joined the national team in 2012, the Tampa, Florida, native has tallied 420 points, by far the most in team history. Teammate and fellow three-time Paralympic gold medalist Brody Roybal is second on the list with 279 points.
With the chance to extend Team USA’s dominant Paralympic run, Farmer reflected on what playing for the national team means to him.
“I think there’s not too many Olympic or Paralympic teams that have ever gone five straight across five different Games in team events, so that’s pretty cool,” Farmer said. “The guys who played on previous teams, they set the tone for us. They did a lot to grow sled hockey and Paralympic sport in the U.S. We’re working hard and trying to keep that going.”
Farmer’s not wrong. No team in Winter Olympic or Paralympic history has ever won five straight golds. Canada and the Soviet Union have each won four golds in a row in men’s hockey, while the Canadians have also won four straight golds in women’s hockey.
Now heading into his fourth Paralympics, Farmer, 28, said the experience never gets old.
“Every time is different,” he said. “Each time, there’s a different team. It feels different. And the culture’s constantly evolving and changing for the better.”
Farmer pointed out that this year’s team features the lowest turnover from a previous Paralympics since his 2014 debut. Only four players will skate in their first Games this time around.
“And they’re four great young players, so it’s definitely exciting to get them in,” Farmer said. “They’re all extremely deserving. And I think they’ll be contributors, as well. For any team to have success, you need the young guys to come in and be difference-makers and ‘X’ factors. They all have the talent to do that.”
Among them is 19-year-old Kayden Beasley of Coats, North Carolina, who only found the sport in 2019 at 12 years old. According to Farmer, that’s late for an elite player.
“He’s like the most talented player I’ve ever seen, probably,” Farmer said. “He just learns quickly. He just has really good fundamentals for someone who hasn’t spent a lot of total time on the ice and played with other good players.
“He works hard, too. He has a great hockey IQ [and] incredible skills. He’s just going to be an awesome player.”
Beasley said he’s looking forward to making his Paralympic debut.
“It will be really cool to be over there,” he said. “It’s a tough sport because there’s a limited number of [roster] spots. You’ve got to grind for it. I think we’re looking pretty good now that we’ve got the final roster down.”
Playing on a roster full of veterans, Beasley has tried to absorb pointers from teammates with Paralympic experience, such as Farmer. Beasley said he’s received a lot of feedback from his teammates, and every player on the roster, no matter the level of experience, has pushed one another to get better as they prepare for the Games.
Brett Bolton of Rockledge, Florida, Liam Cunningham of River Falls, Wisconsin, and Landon Uthke of Albert Lea, Minnesota, join Beasley as first-time Paralympians on the sled team. Cunningham is the youngest player on the team, as he’ll turn 18 on 5 March, one day before the Opening Ceremony.
So far this season, Team USA is undefeated and won the championship at the International Para Hockey Cup in October and the Para Hockey Cup in December. Even so, Farmer thinks there’s a lot the Americans can improve on heading into the Games.
“We won all our games this season, but I don’t think we were great in our most recent tournament in Canada,” Farmer said. “Sometimes, that’s a good thing. I kind of like coming off of a bad tournament because it gets us focused up on the things that were not great, and it kind of exposes our weaknesses as a team so we’re able to kind of stay motivated.
“I think it was good for us to build off of that. You want room for improvement, for sure.”
Farmer is eager to see fans in Italy since they were absent from Beijing in 2022 due to the pandemic.
“It’s so exciting,” he said. “It’s going to be great to have friends and family back there watching us. It’s going to be cool to share that experience with them.”
What the fans likely will see is a Paralympic hockey tournament that’s more competitive than in the past. The U.S. and Canada remain the undisputed powerhouses, but other nations are closing the gap.
Farmer pointed out that the U.S. has had to grind out one-goal wins against Czechia and China in recent years, and Italy has beaten Czechia and will have home-ice advantage.
Members of the U.S. team have encouraged parity in the sport and have held camps and clinics in different countries to help grow the game globally. However, when the puck drops in Italy, the Americans will be ready to extend their golden streak.
“Everyone’s in pretty good shape,” Farmer said. “We do a pretty good job of managing rest and recovery and balancing that with hard training days. I think everyone’s feeling really good and trying to peak at the right time.”
Bob Reinert spent 17 years writing sports for The Boston Globe. He also served as a sports information director at Saint Anselm College and Phillips Exeter Academy. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.com on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
For more, please visit the USOPC Paralympic Educational Hub.
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