LA Strong charity game 'full-circle moment' for first responder

Roger Sackaroff is a 17-year veteran of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, currently assigned to the Fire Prevention Bureau as a Fire Inspector. The 48-year-old has also been a part of the JB hockey pickup, a twice weekly skate widely considered one of the best pickup hockey groups in North America, for the past 15 years. When not working or playing, he's usually found behind the bench or on the ice coaching youth hockey for various programs based out of TSPC in El Segundo or watching hockey with his wife, Erin and their sons, Oscar and Jesse.

I'm back!

It's been a minute (or twenty years) since my byline last appeared on NHL.com. Back in those days, I had realized a dream of working in the sport I loved. As part of the NHL.com crew, I attended hundreds of regular-season and Stanley Cup playoff games, an Olympic Games, and many other major League events, all while working with some of the best people in the game. It was a proverbial dream come true.

Well, now I have another hockey dream come true thanks to the LA Strong charity fundraiser at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

I was one of the first responders to play in the game, playing on the same team as one of my idols, Mark Messier, the New York Rangers legend.

It was a full-circle moment for me as my past and present collided in the most pleasant way.

A vignette from the game explains it best.

As part of the festivities this weekend, we were invited to skate with family on the Kings' home ice before the event. Walking into the locker room to grab my skates, I see it. I won't forget it. My gear laid out in full NHL style, event sweater hanging in the locker, nameplate, the works. And then I notice the locker to the left of mine. It says: M. MESSIER

I grew up a hard-core hockey fan in New York. The Rangers team, with Messier leading the way, that won the Cup in 1994 is, like for most Rangers fans, a treasured memory.

In 2001, I was at MSG, working for NHL.com, when Messier donned a fire helmet as the Rangers took the ice and helped get the healing process going for an entire city in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Now 24 years later, I'm a fireman about to be playing on the same team and dressing in the next locker. The magnitude of the moment sank in.

A few minutes later, the man himself walks in. I quietly fuss with my gear for a while. Finally, he sits down to tie his skates and I finally blurt out, "Mr. Messier, you got a second for a quick story?" I tell him about my history and where I am now. He smiles and responds, "That's awesome. I'm glad you're here." I think I said, "Yeah me too," but I may have blacked out for a moment.

You see, the moment with Messier in New York City three decades ago is why I'm sitting here today, as a first responder on the opposite coast, helping to raise money for another horrific tragedy, the California wildfires that ravaged our community.

The events and aftermath of 9/11 changed my perspective on what I had been doing and what I felt I had the potential to do. It took some time, but I felt that I had a bigger impact to make in the world.

Eventually, I became a firefighter with the Los Angeles City Fire Department, a new and different dream come true. In more than 17 years on the job, I have put out fires, saved lives, delivered babies and, yes, I've rescued cats from trees.

With the recent wildfires, I was deeply involved in recovery efforts following the Pacific Palisades fires.
Spending extensive time in the fire zone in the weeks after the fire, I worked to identify and mitigate remaining hazards, including hazardous materials, unstable structures, and lingering fire risks, to ensure the safety of the community.

I assisted in reuniting families with pets left behind during evacuations and later helped residents visit the sites where their homes once stood -- whether to retrieve belongings or assess the damage.

The goal was to offer both safety and comfort during this challenging time.

Among the people I helped, the Zajdzinski family is one that stands out. They are part of the great community of hockey families that play at TSPC in El Segundo. Mark and Joy and their kids Zoey and Gianni are among the nicest and most genuine people around.

I coached Zoey and Gianni, who played on the same team with my son, Jesse.

They were evacuated because of the fires in Pacific Palisades, leaving almost everything behind. I was able to help their family retrieve some treasured things, like Zoey's art and supplies, and also some hockey gear for Mark to play beer league games and Zoey and Gianni to play in their rec league games. For a family going through so much, this small assist was much appreciated.

I really never considered being able to play in this game, even with the first-responder element. I had no problem with that. To be fair, the Kings and I are more than square. Several years ago, when Jesse was critically ill and needed to find a match for a bone marrow transplant, the Kings went all out to promote his cause with the National Marrow Donor Program and Be The Match to find a donor.

A match, thankfully, was found. During his treatment the Kings, especially Derek Forbort, Kyle Clifford, Drew Doughty and Daryl Evans, made sure he had some very special times to enjoy. The hockey community coming together for another assist.

Jesse is fully recovered and playing hockey again.

But I was invited to play, by Luc Robitaille, no less. Who says no?

We spent Thursday doing some skating, an opportunity for the non-professionals in the game to get some rust off.

A few minutes in, a new group comes out. Retired NHL players like Rob Blake, Nelson Emerson, Matt Greene, Alex Edler, Dion Phaneuf, Nate Thompson, Daryl Evans. Once I pick up my jaw, my goal was to stay out of the way.

Instead, we had a practice full of NHL-style drills, followed by a scrimmage.

Playing 4-on-4, I jump out to start the scrimmage. My defense partner is Blake, the Hall of Fame defenseman who is the Kings general manager. He skates over and says, "Hey kid, you can play forward". I tell him, "Nah I'm a defenseman, you can play forward if you want." Thankfully, he laughed at my joke and said, "We'll all play offense then."

It was all just so much fun. As I was leaving the ice, I thought that if this was the part I was able to participate in, it would already be one of the best events ever.

Instead, I got to walk the red carpet the next day with my son Oscar. We were cheered, thanked, videotaped, photographed and interviewed -- including by NHL.com!

At the end of the carpet, the Stanley Cup. No touching it, right? Could still win it someday. The Cup Keeper takes my fire helmet and places it on top of the bowl. What a sight!

Then it's game time.

Our team is up first. Danny Devito and Al Michaels are our coaches. Michaels channels Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980 USA Olympic team and tells us if we lose, we'll take it to our [bleeping] graves. Yeah, we're not losing this game. The team is fired up.

I get introduced like an NHL player at an All-Star Game and My only thought is: Don't wipe out.

As the intros end and the lights go up, I see Zoey and Gianni jumping up and down cheering for me at the glass. They were there with their family and others that were given free tickets by the Kings.

I'm on the ice for the opening face-off. My defense partner is P.K. Subban. Messier takes the faceoff. Theo Fleury on his wing. It's game on.

Fleury dishes a beauty to a wide-open Messier who buries it. Seconds later, I find myself inside a hockey hug with a trio of NHL legends. I have a picture of said hug. I am still having trouble believing it happened.

The final was faster but fun. I got dangled by Terry "Ted Hitchcock" Ryan for a goal, but being a huge fan of "Shoresy" and Newfoundlanders took away a bit of the sting. I also threw my face in front of a puck breaking up a scoring chance, which drew appreciation from the bench, the crowd and my pickup hockey buddies in attendance.

Sadly, it wasn't enough to stop Team Red, which was a wagon.

And I will say that even though Team Blue didn't win on the scoresheet, it definitely won on the bench and in the room. An epic group of fun and classy people. We had a blast.

As the event ended, I took a last look out at the crowd, the LA Strong banners, all that had been done for the event. All to help others. I took a deep breath, gave thanks and stepped off the ice.

Looking out into the glass and seeing Zoe and Gianni wildly cheering me on was truly one of the best moments of the day.

It's a reminder of what it means to be part of a hockey family and what happens when the smaller and larger hockey communities come together for a cause.