In-State Merger Led to a Successful Sled Nationals Debut for the Florida Storm
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — To this day, Megan Hyman and Cameron Gomes still can’t believe what happened. How were they able to combine the Brooks IceBreakers and the Orlando Sled Bears into one team?
“When we told them of the opportunity, our players said, ‘Yes’, right away,” Hyman said. “Everybody was so grateful, so excited.”
Gomes agreed.
“All of this was new to them,” Gomes said. “They caught the hockey bug, and they cannot wait to play in something like that again.”
Hyman and Gomes were referring to the 2025 USA Hockey Sled National Championships, which took place at the Florida IceDen earlier this month.
Their Florida Storm team was honored to be there that week.
“This was such a fantastic experience for them and their families,” said Hyman, the Storm’s team manager. “It provided an opportunity for the kids to see how sled hockey works, but also that it can be a lifelong sport if they like. Just a wonderful time, on and off the ice.”
Gomes, the Storm’s coach, shared the reigns behind the bench with Rick Hyman and Scott West.
“This team, we didn’t even have a full practice together. It was a mix of two lines that had never played with one another,” Gomes said. “I was really proud of how they worked together and won a couple of games.”
Despite not making it to Championship Sunday, Gomes continued to reiterate how special this tournament was.
“I could tell for the kids that this was their first athletic competition,” he said. “For them to have that experience, at that level, and see first-hand the same challenges that other teams were having, it was really neat.”
The Florida Storm is an all-Florida youth sled hockey team with players from the Brooks IceBreakers in Jacksonville and the Orlando Sled Bears, which were sponsored by the Central Florida DreamPlex in Clermont.
Both youth teams developed a friendly relationship over the past three years, leading to the Brooks Rehabilitation and the Central Florida DreamPlex merger.
“In 2024, when we found out that this tournament was going to be in our backyard, we said that we have to go for it,” Megan Hyman said. “We believed it was a wonderful opportunity for our players to have that competitive experience and learn from sled hockey athletes from around the country.”
At the youth level, the Brooks IceBreakers and the Orlando Sled Bears started out playing recreationally. With small rosters, neither team could compete at the top level. The Central Florida DreamPlex had youth players just like the Icebreakers, but it also didn’t have a competitive youth team.
Such was hard to come by at the time, yet Hyman was proud of the effort her local area put in.
“The sled hockey community helped build our team through mentorship,” she said. “The Learn To Play Sled Hockey Clinic, which was hosted by Brooks Rehabilitation, was instrumental in helping our group get to where it needed to be. It led to me getting connected with Cameron, Corey Fairbanks, the coach of the Orlando Sled Bears, and Monica Quimby, a current member of (the U.S. Women’s Development) Sled Hockey Team.”
Gomes had an adult sled hockey team with the Orlando Sled Bears but struggled with the younger crowd at first. It didn’t take too long for things to come together.
“Our adult team played in nationals, so we were like, ‘Now, we got to get our youth team involved,’” Gomes said. “Scrimmages and practices were very limited. This all became a joint effort.”
Nationals surpassed everyone’s expectations, Gomes said.
"The players learned how to compete as teammates and experience those decisive victories and heartbreaking losses together,” Gomes said. “The value of friendship and sportsmanship was illustrated on and off the ice.
“We looked at this as something to do, something to prepare for. But once they experienced that game atmosphere, now, they are talking about getting all this new equipment. The future is very bright for us. We’re pumped up.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
Source: usahockey.com