Ontario Paralympian asks thieves to return hockey equipment, sports memorabilia after break-in
Former goalie for Canada's men's sledge hockey team says about $30K of memorabilia stolen, plus prized glove
A Canadian Paralympic gold medalist is asking thieves who stole a hockey bag of equipment and about $30,000 worth of sports memorabilia to give the items back.
Paul Rosen, a former goalie for the Canadian men's sledge hockey team team and a motivational speaker who lives in East Gwillimbury, Ont., says he found out last Friday that his storage unit in Newmarket, Ont., had been ransacked and looted. His goalie glove was among the items stolen.
Rosen said the incident has left him in shock because it's not the first time someone has stolen one of his Paralympic prized possessions. In 2007, his gold medal was stolen from a charity event and returned a week later.
"I couldn't believe it, to be really honest with you," Rosen said on Thursday. "As soon as I walked in, and I saw everything just all over the place, the first thing was, oh my god, my equipment, my hockey bag was in there."
Then Rosen said he realized his goalie glove and mask were gone.
"They destroyed everything. They threw everything on the floor, smashed things," he said.
Break-in happened sometime in last month, police say
York Regional Police said on Thursday that officers responded to a commercial break-in at a basement storage unit in the area of Davis Drive and Yonge Street on May 9. Police said the break-in happened some time in the last month and they have no descriptions of suspects.
The hockey bag contained Rosen's personal Paralympics equipment, while the sports memorabilia belonged to his non-profit organization, Stop Concussions.
"The destruction is what really bothers me," he said.
Rosen said what hurts the most is the loss of his prized glove because he used it to help Team Canada win gold at the Paralympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy in 2006. The win was Canada's only gold medal in the Paralympic event.
The glove is embroidered with his name and nickname and has spikes on it.
"It was the last thing I had, the last actual thing that I can hold and remember from those games and I've had a crazy life since then with addiction and mental health and struggles, so it really does mean a lot to me," he said.
Rosen said there were no security cameras at the storage unit and he had no insurance.
In January 2007, someone snatched his Paralympic gold medal during an autographing session with fans in Toronto.
After a media frenzy and a scolding from former hockey commentator Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada, someone dropped it in a mailbox. The medal turned up at a postal sorting station in Toronto, and police returned it.
Now Rosen said he is hoping another team effort can get all of his cherished possessions back.
"My address and my name and my phone number are on the bag. Just give it to someone and get it back to me," he said.
Sports artifacts are important, local councillor says
Ron Weese, a town councillor for Aurora, Ont. and president of Sport Aurora, an advocacy group that represents several sports organizations in the town, said Rosen is an inspiration to many athletes because he has risen to the top despite challenges.
"We understand completely how artifacts and items are important for people because they represent the most important days of their lives, the most important moments of their lives many times. And so that's a matter of inspiration for them and everyone else," Weese said.
Weese said he hopes somebody will come forward to say they have found the items.
"Every single piece is important," he said.
Rosen suffered a leg injury during a hockey game as a youth, and the resulting damage, infections, and pain to his leg plagued him for years until his lower leg was amputated above the knee when he was 39.
During rehabilitation, he joined the Canadian men's sledge hockey team and took part in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Paralympic Games.
With files from Britnei Bilhete