Page 42 - Tom Steyer Issue

Enter Middleton, a former NHL player for the Boston Bruins who was recruited back in 2001 to coach the U.S. national sled hockey team. A friend connected with the sled hockey program called him, explained the dire situation, and asked about his interest in coaching.
They are the co-producers of the film Tough Sledding: The Movie, which aims to capture the little-known story of the 2002 Paralympic sled hockey gold medal victory by the U.S. national team.
“I didn’t even have a clue what sled hockey was when he called me,” Middleton laughed. “I just heard hockey and Paralympics and thought yeah, I’d be interested.”
Brandt grew up playing hockey in Canada and met Mid- dleton about 10 years ago when fundraising for his son’s college hockey team. Middleton, a legend with the Bru- ins, leads the Bruins alumni network and helped Brandt with his son’s team. They became friends and later busi- ness partners on a couple of different ventures. That’s when Middleton shared a story about the time he coached a team to the gold medal.
The phrase “the rest is history” never has been more applicable.
Middleton magically pulled together the biggest group of underdogs to compete in the 2002 Paralympic Games. He transformed them from merely chasing the puck into a well-oiled system of hockey players. He had no measuring stick to gauge their progress. And he skat- ed his team right into Salt Lake City as the lowest seed only to go undefeated and win the first ever gold medal for the United States in sled hockey.
“I know a lot about hockey. I played hockey. I pride myself in knowing the game,” Brandt said. “I didn’t know anything about this story. The drama was well beyond the success story of rags to riches and we won the gold medal. This was about grit, perseverance, and fulfillment.”
“This is the best sports story that nobody knows about,” Middleton said.
And so, Brandt contacted an old friend in Los Angeles and shared the story.
Gary Brandt and Yaron Kaplan hope to change that.
“I call up Yaron and asked if we could get this done in like six months. He’s looking at me like I’m crazy,”
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Photo by Paige Petrone LAArtsOnline.com