Color of Hockey: Roman committed to growth of sled game

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Rico Roman, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist with the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team who is now working to grow the game.

Rico Roman retired from the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team in June, but he's still going at the hard-charging pace that characterized his style of play during his 11 years on the team.
"No, no, no, my sled is not collecting dust, that's for sure," Roman said. "I've done, like, five sled hockey camps in Virginia. We did it in San Antonio, we did it in Indiana and just all over the place."
Dan Brennan, the national team's general manager, said Roman has been so omnipresent on the sled hockey scene in retirement, he hasn't had the chance to miss him.
"I told him I see him more as a retired player than I did when he was on the team," Brennan said.

Sled hockey took Roman, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant, around the world and more often than not, he returned home with gold.
The 41-year-old Portland, Oregon, native helped the U.S. win gold medals in three consecutive Paralympic Winter Games (Sochi, 2014; PyeongChang, 2018; Beijing, 2022).
Roman competed in five International Paralympic Committee world championships with the U.S. winning three gold medals (2012, 2019, 2021) and two silver medals (2013, 2017) and he had four points in each of his last three world championship appearances (2017, 2019, 2021).
He also competed in nine Para Hockey Cup tournaments (previously known as the World Sled Hockey Challenge), helping the U.S. win six titles.
Roman played in 123 games for the U.S. as a defenseman and forward and finished with 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists).
"It's been nothing but fun all these years with the boys," Roman said. "But I was ready to turn the page. I'm a little up there in age, I'm not trying to make that as an excuse, but I just felt like it was time, and I'm happy with my decision to retire."

Roman's Paralympic appearances brought him recognition off the ice. He was among the U.S. athletes featured in Olympics/Paralympics ads for Comcast in 2017, Toyota in 2020 and Ralph Lauren and Citi Bank in 2022.
"On the ice, he was an extremely hard-working leader," Brennan said. "Off the ice, he was just a great ambassador. First and foremost, he's a tremendous human being. And he's a very infectious character. I mean as soon as he walked in the room, the room lights up and he was very popular with his teammates."
Roman was one of the first war-wounded veterans to make the U.S. National Sled Hockey team roster. He joined the Army in 2001 after graduating from Alpha High School in Gresham, Oregon.
On February 22, 2007, Roman was working his third tour in Iraq. He finished work that day at a checkpoint and decided his Humvee would lead the vehicular caravan back to base.
It was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED) and the blast severely damaged both of his legs. The pain in Roman's left leg grew so unbearable that a year later, he opted to have it amputated just above the knee.
During his recovery at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas, Roman was approached by members of Operation Comfort, a nonprofit group that provided rehabilitative and therapeutic programs for wounded veterans at the medical center.
He took up cycling, using specialized bikes, and wheelchair basketball with the same competitive zeal he displayed during his high school football days.
When Operation Comfort staffers suggested he try sled hockey, Roman balked. The son of a Mexican American mother and Puerto Rican father, he had no real history with hockey.
"I grew up playing soccer, I played football, I loved basketball," he said. "Hockey was just something I had never played or watched, really, except for 'The Mighty Ducks' movie."

But once Operation Comfort convinced Roman to go onto the ice, they couldn't get him off. He joined the San Antonio Rampage, a sled hockey team of military veterans, and joined the U.S. National team in 2011-12.
"Once I got out there and tried it and started playing, I was, like, 'Oh my gosh, this is so much fun,'" he said. "It just reminded me kind of like football on ice."
After a decorated international playing career, Roman is trying to grow sled hockey. He lives in Washington State but he's trying to expand sled hockey in his native Oregon.
He has visited sled hockey camps in other states to coach and inspire participants.
And he's traveled just to get in a game or two.
"I love playing," Roman said. "I've retired from the national team, but I want to play club hockey until they're, like, 'Hey, that's enough.'"
Photos:USA Hockey