The Boston Bruins, along with the Boston Bruins Foundation and the Jacobs family, the owners of the team, announced Thursday night they would pledge a minimum of $100,000 for a local high school hockey player who suffered a spinal cord injury during a recent game.
The team sprung into action after learning the news that Bishop Feehan High School hockey player A.J. Quetta severely injured his spine after crashing headfirst into the boards of an ice rink in West Springfield, Mass. during a game Tuesday night, according to a report from CBS Boston. Quetta had surgery Wednesday night at a Boston hospital, but his family says the 18-year-old senior still has a long recovery ahead of him; he may never walk or skate again. (RELATED: Legendary Goalie Jimmy Howard Retires From The NHL)
“Despite these tragic circumstances, it makes my family and the Boston Bruins organization very proud to see such an outpouring of support from the New England hockey community,” said Boston Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs in a statement. “A.J. and his family should know that they are not alone in the journey, and that we will be with him the whole way.”
In addition to raising money, the Bruins also found a way to honor the young hockey player during Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Winger Brad Marchand hung Quetta’s jersey behind the Bruins bench and at the end of the game the team awarded him the winning game puck, CBS reported.
Tonight was for A.J. pic.twitter.com/48n9U4fmWM
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 29, 2021
The team also plans to auction game sticks from previous games next week and donate the proceeds to Quetta and his family.
The Bruins aren’t the only ones raising funds for the Quetta. Local sports radio personality Greg Hill encouraged callers to his show “The Greg Hill Show” to donate to Quetta’s family, pledging he would match donations up to $10,000 through his foundation, WEEI reported. Patriots owner Robert Kraft happened to be one of those callers and he pledged to match donations up to $25,000.
The GoFundMe page created for Quetta has raised over $500,000 as of Friday afternoon.