I had the privilege of getting to work with Elite Ice, and specifically Seb, about a year and a half ago while I was hosting an international student from Spain who was here playing hockey. During one of his games, my student sustained a devastating, life altering injury that severely damaged his liver and, had the impact been only slightly different, could have left him paralyzed.

What followed was an incredibly difficult recovery, both physically and emotionally. From the beginning, Seb was there for him. He continued to encourage and mentor my player and even connected him with someone who had experienced a similar traumatic experience, giving him someone who could understand what he was going through in a way that very few people could.

Once my player was medically cleared to return to the ice, Seb’s role became even more meaningful. Several times a week, he took the time to work with him individually, rebuilding his skating, his strength, his confidence, and perhaps most importantly, his trust in being on the ice again. Seb was not simply trying to get him back to the level he had been at before the injury. He understood that there was an emotional recovery happening alongside the physical one.

What impressed me most was the way Seb knew when to push and when to slow down. His approach was never simply “push, push, push.” He paid attention. He genuinely cared about my player’s wellbeing and gradually increased what he asked of him only when he knew he was ready. There were certainly moments when Seb challenged him, particularly when fear and anxiety were becoming the biggest obstacles, but even then, he never simply pushed him through it. He stayed with him, talked him through it, and coached him through those moments too.

I watched this young man go from being confined to a bed after a traumatic injury to eventually putting his skates back on, picking up a stick, rebuilding his confidence, and competing in the national championships again. That transformation is something I will never forget.

I can say without hesitation that Seb played an enormous role in making that possible. Without his coaching, patience, encouragement, and willingness to invest personally in my player, I truly do not know whether he would have found his way back to hockey. The physical ability may eventually have returned, but the fear of stepping onto the ice again could very easily have kept him from ever touching a puck.

Seb was much more than a skating coach during that time. He became a mentor and someone my player trusted. Just as importantly, as the person responsible for this young man while he was thousands of miles away from his own family, I trusted Seb too. His ability to connect not only with my player but with me as his host made an incredibly difficult experience a little easier to navigate.

There are plenty of coaches who can teach skating technique. What makes Seb special is that he sees the person inside the skates. He cared about the athlete, but he also cared about the young man who was trying to find his confidence again after something terrifying had happened to him.

I will always be grateful to Seb and Elite Ice for what they did for my player and for me. Seeing him skate competitively again after everything he had been through was extraordinary, and Seb will forever be part of that story.