Jen Lee Retires After Carrying on the U.S. Sled National Team’s Tradition of Strong Goaltending

For the first 10 years he was a member of the U.S. Sled National Team, Jen Lee watched Steve Cash dominate in the net.

As the team’s backup goaltender, Lee patiently waited for his time to become a starter. When that time came, he took full advantage.

After Cash retired in 2021, Lee took over in net and dazzled. He helped Team USA capture the gold medal in the 2022 Paralympic Games, not allowing a goal in his four starts. This past March, he helped the U.S. to its fifth-straight Paralympic gold.

Now it’s Lee’s turn to step aside.

Lee, who was born in Taipei, Taiwan, recently announced his retirement from the national team after 14 years.

“It’s something that I’ve been playing around, crossing my mind, and finally it was a good decision after Milan to call it quits,” said Lee, who finished with nine gold medals — four at the Paralympics and five at the World Championships.

During his illustrious career, Lee put up great numbers. In the 70 games he played between the pipes for the national team, Lee posted 27 shutouts. He finished with a career record of 50-2-0-3 (W-OTW-OTL-L).

Lee surrendered just 43 goals, with a minuscule goals-against average of 0.73 and a save percentage of .899, making him the national team’s all-time leader in both statistics among qualified goalies.

All the records Lee set hold a special meaning to him.

“When I started playing, I never really thought about stats like that. To go back and look at what kind of stats I’m holding, I’m surprising myself,” Lee said. “To me, it’s just one of those that I’ve just been very fortunate. The coach gave me a chance to not only select me and be on the roster, but give me the chance to play and improve myself. I’m grateful for the coaching staff, for Dan [Brennan], the general manager, for sticking to his guns and believing in me as well all these years. I’m grateful for everything; as a kid you dream to be an athlete or try to be part of a team and part of something big. I’m able to do that, and a dream come true in a way.”

One big deciding factor for Lee to retire was having his first child, LeiAna, two and a half years ago. Leading up to the Milan-Cortina Paralympics this year, Lee had to dedicate so much time for preparation and travel, it limited his opportunity to see his young daughter.

“I know it’s been really good support from the fam to do what I’ve got to do, but then I figured it was time for me to at least be a little bit closer and spend more time with my daughter and then figure out where it goes from there,” Lee said.

“Having a daughter, having my family be a priority, that’s really what makes me wake up every day.”

Lee served in the U.S. Army as an aircraft mechanic and was deployed to Iraq for a two-year tour in 2006. Two years later, Lee had his left leg amputated following a motorcycle crash. The following year, Lee found sled hockey, and it wasn’t long before he worked his way onto the national team.

Representing his country was always special for Lee, especially since he moved to the U.S. at age 6.

“I’m super thankful for not only getting the opportunity to serve my country, but our nation gives us a sense of opportunity and freedom to represent your country in a different way,” said Lee, who is now living back in Taipei. “Being able to do that on a big stage where everybody still looks at us as important as the men’s hockey team, the women’s hockey team, it’s just such a huge honor for sure to be a part of that.”

After backing up Cash — who is in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as well as the U.S. Olympics & Paralympics Hall of Fame — Lee took on a mentorship role of his own. Griffin LaMarre joined the national team in 2021 and is next up in a line of great goaltending lineage for Team USA.

Cash showed Lee the ropes when he came up in 2010, and he couldn’t have asked for a better person to learn from.

“He gave me a lot of pointers in and out, talked about the mental side of it, the commitment side of it, being a goaltender,” Lee said. “Just watching him and backing him up, I just realized how great he is and that’s why he’s one of the all-time greats for sure.”

“Whatever Steve taught me, I wanted to do the same thing for Griffin. It’s just having that USA Hockey goaltending standard that you carry and things like that, and I’m just happy to see him doing so well.”

At 40 years old, Lee was one of the veterans on the national team. Now he’s ready to pass on the torch to the next generation of sled hockey players.

Lee will miss the camaraderie he shared with his teammates: the fun times in the locker room, team dinners, chats at coffee shops and participating in small tournaments leading up to the Paralympic Games.

But there is one thing Lee certainly won’t miss.

“Dragging the hockey bag for the last 13, 14 seasons,” he said. “It’s one of those things that you’re always going to be like, ‘Hey, man. I don’t really miss doing this.’”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.