Vancouver Canucks Head Athletic Therapist Roman Kaszczij is excitedly anticipating his first regular-season NHL game.
Kaszczij has been part of human performance teams at NHL development camps, training camps, and preseason games. He’s been with Abbotsford for four seasons and enters his first season with Vancouver.
“To be able to go to Utica and Abbotsford and then come to Vancouver has been really rewarding. That first ‘welcome to the NHL’ moment is still probably to come. It’s been a really exciting time for myself, my family, and everybody involved in the process,” Kaszczij said.
The Mississauga, ON native got his introduction to professional sports interning for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017. He earned a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in Kinesiology at McMaster University, and then attended Sheridan College where he received his Bachelor of Applied Health Sciences (BAHSc) Athletic Therapy.
He knew he wanted to work in hockey when he was an Athletic Therapy Intern for the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs from 2016-2018. He took his first job out of university with WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and spent a year in Brandon before joining the Utica Comets.
Kaszczij was given autonomy and was empowered by Abbotsford Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson to make the medical room his own. Over the past four seasons, Johnson has been a mentor for Kaszczij, teaching him the nuances of a professional organization and helping him grow within his role.
“He was the big selling point for me when I took the job. I remember talking to him for the first time and immediately knowing he was someone I wanted to work for. He’s one of the greatest humans I’ve come across and I’m thankful that he took a chance on me as a young kid to work in Utica,” he said.
He’s grateful for all the staff in Utica who helped him get acclimated to pro hockey as well. During his time with the Comets, he had the opportunity navigate the U.S. healthcare systems and gained a lot of knowledge on that front, even though those seasons were impacted by the COVID pandemic.
Kaszczij is at the ready for any potential on-ice injuries and is part of the rehab and recovery process. He explains his role focuses on injury management and keeping communication of player progress fluid between coaches, team doctors and the rest of the human performance team. Kaszczij’s approach to athletic therapy is holistic and, similarly to Director of Sport Performance, Alex Trinca, it’s about respecting the stress the players are under as athletes and people.
“I’m a small part of the Canucks’ ecosystem and a big part of my job is managing, delegating, helping coordinate appointments, external treatment sessions, things like that. I try to make sure I’m helping make life easy on these players in whatever way I can,” he said.
“After games you’ll see a player with their kids and you realize that this is a job for him and he’s trying to provide for his family, or a younger player taking his first steps into the world of pro hockey.”
Helping people with their craft at an elite level brings a different kind of pressure than helping players in the minors that are working their way up the ranks, but it’s something he enjoyed with the Blue Jays and wanted to pursue.
An advantage of coming up through the Canucks organization is getting to know the players and staff and building that rapport.
“It’s nice to be in the Canucks organization where I have some trust built with guys that I’ve come across throughout the years. There’s a lot of new guys and I’ve got to earn that a little bit too,” he said.
He’s had a few months to get acquainted in his new role before the season and he's been helping make sure players feel their best. There's lots to prepare for and attend to on game days, and even though he's been part of countless opening nights, he's ready for all the feels on his first NHL opening night.
