They were heroes who served our country, and now they’re professional-level athletes playing hockey for a good cause.
Long Island Warriors Hockey was founded in 2020 and aims to provide a sports outlet for military veterans and their families on Long Island, strengthen veteran camaraderie, and promote community engagement for them. It’s a local chapter of the USA Hockey Warrior Program.
“The main goal is to have our warriors, our veterans back on a mission,” Tom Donaldson, president of LI Warriors and a U.S. Army veteran, told the Press. “We’re helping each other, we’re there for each other and we’re trying to help the community as well. When you’re in the military, you’re forced to stay in shape, and you always have a mission or a goal. And sometimes we lose that on the civilian side and ask ourselves, ‘What are we working towards? What are we trying to achieve?’”
But it’s a double benefit. Not only does the program provide veterans with an athletic outlet, the games they play raise money for others who serve the country, including veterans and police officers.
“We take in veterans who are interested from either a novice level or to a high-level playing level and we just take them in with open arms,” Jimmy Calderone Jr., Warriors coach and former hockey player, told the Press. “Some are active, some are retired, some are in the reserves. We take them in and say, ‘Hey, listen, you want to learn how to play hockey or you know how to play hockey?’ It’s a great outlet for anybody in the military, to be able to escape the daily lives or the daily struggles that they deal with.”
They’ve got two events coming up this month; on June 15, they will be playing a charity game to raise money for the family members of deceased NYPD officers Cliford Saintvil and Bryant Spagnolo, both of whom died off-duty. Both served in NYPD’s 13th Precinct. On June 19, the organization will be hosting a golf outing.
Last year, the organization raised money for the Drenckhan family. Steve Drenckhan is an Air Force veteran and former Floral Park police officer who was hit by a car while off-duty and had to go on disability; Joanne Drenckhan, his wife, was a nurse who developed myocarditis and had to undergo a heart transplant. Nevertheless, Joanne was able to attend and drop a puck on the ice, and the game raised up to $15,000 for the family.
“It was a bad situation, but she did it all with a smile and it was great to be able to help them,” Donaldson added.
LI Warriors has three teams – white, orange, and blue, divided up by playing level. Sometimes they play against each other, with teams getting mixed up to keep it fair, while sometimes they play against other charity hockey teams; the game in honor of the Drenckhans was played against the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Hockey Team. The June 15 game will be played by mixed LI Warriors teams.
“These people are the true embodiment of self-sacrifice. To be able to give back to them, it’s always a treat,” Rob Lynott, the Warriors’ head coach, told the Press. “And their skills transfer well. The way they communicate that camaraderie that these guys have? All that stuff that they learned in the service all translates.”
The most rewarding part, at least for Donaldson, is seeing how playing hockey improves the veterans’ lives.
“The best compliment I’ve had is when I’ve had spouses and family members saying, ‘My husband’s better. He’s not drinking anymore. He’s exercising, he’s happier, he’s sleeping better,’” Donaldson said. “Some of us are open about our struggles, some of us aren’t. Bringing these guys together to have that support system is very impactful.”
Long Island Warriors Hockey’s second annual ‘Help a Hero’ charity game will be held on June 15 at 5 p.m. at the Northwell Health Ice Center, located at 200 Merrick Ave. in East Meadow. To attend, donate, join, and more, visit liwarriorshockey.org.
