A Special Night In St Paul - A Look Inside Jack Jablonskis Gala - LA Kings Insider
# A Special Night In St Paul - A Look Inside Jack Jablonskis Gala - LA Kings Insider
# Contributors
# Players
# Staff
# Summary
Last night was a special one in Minnesota for several reasons.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that the Kings picked up their first win of the season, in exciting fashion over the Wild. Independent of the result, however, was an impactful and certainly heartwarming event that tied both teams together in a way that only the hockey community can.
That tie is Jack Jablonski, an LA Kings employee – and contributing writer here on LAKI I might add – who grew up in Minnesota as a Wild fan. Jack’s life changed in high school, playing in Minnesota, when a hit he suffered during game play caused a severe spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down, with limited movement in his upper body.
That’s why a sold-out event gathered hockey fans together in the bowels of Xcel Energy Center before yesterday’s Kings/Wild showdown. Ranging from Kings employees to local Minnesotans, a crowd of around 400 – 500 people showed up for a special evening, the annual Beat Paralysis Gala, held each year in Minnesota.
# Notes and Quotes
# Jack Jablonski
This is usually the biggest day of the year for our foundation, it’s a sold-out event and this is our biggest moneymaker so to speak in terms of what we take in annually for donations. For me personally, it’s obviously a grateful day, to see the continued support, not only for myself personally but for the foundation. Everyone who continues to want to help my foundation and I thrive to help people in wheelchairs with spinal injuries.
Right now a big focus of ours is upper limb function and blatter studies. That has a lot to do with spinal stimulation through electrodes and electricity going into the spinal cord and with tedious therapy and tasks and rehab in terms of function, we work towards improving the lives of people with paralysis in their upper limbs, and also helping to improve the lives of people that have had their bladder affected as well.
Being able to combine hockey with paralysis research and awareness is something that’s very special and close to my heart. Obviously, it’s two things that are very intertwined in my life and to be able to keep them together for the right cause is something that I don’t take lightly but also I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to do.
It’s very special to have the Kings and Wild be a part of a night like this. Not only do we have the gala here before the game, but a lot takes place during the game as well. To be able to have the team that I grew up around and loving, as well as the team that I work for and love, is really awesome. Just to have both teams as a part of a night like this, something that we can all celebrate together in terms of focusing in on helping the lives of people with paralysis.
We’re excited to get that money and be able to take it from donations and put it into clinical trial studies.