Wisconsin hockey has seen many an all-American come and go as one of the most successful programs in DI hockey history and Friday night the Badgers will honor one of the most unique stories as former goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck will be the honorary captain and drop the ceremonial first puck ahead of the series opener with Denver.
This isn’t your average player comeback though as Daubenspeck will walk out on to the ice exactly
a year to the date of a very serious car accident that left him in an extended comma. His car hit a tractor trailer in foggy conditions on his way home February 17, 2011.
According to a press release earlier this week from the athletic department the Wisconsin hockey family – including teammates, friends, fans, staff and student-athletes – all did their part to help Daubenspeck recover from the horrific accident with personal support, contributions and fundraisers.
Daubenspeck played for the Badgers from 93-94 to 96-97. Dauber, as he was commonly known as, was a 2nd team all-American goalie for the Badgers during the 1996-97 season. He was a 7th round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1992 NHL draft. After exhausting his career at Wisconsin the Madison native spent 9 seasons playing minor league hockey with various stints in the IHL, WCHL, ECHL, and AHL.
Friday night will mark the one year anniversary of the horrific accident and the Badgers honoring him with a chance to walk out on the ice and drop the puck is an amazing story and should be a very emotional event for all involved and perhaps a bit of extra motivation for a rare home victory over Denver!
Congrats to Kirk on his continuing recovery and should you want to assist in helping to offset the costs of the medical bills associated with the accident you can do so by clicking here.
We wish Kirk the best in his recovery efforts and it’s amazing seeing the Wisconsin hockey community come together like they have in this effort…. ON WISCONSIN!!
(photo courtesy uwbadgers.com)
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