While at the 2016 Hockey Conference: the evolution of hockey, currently being hosted in Fredericton, N.B., SPMA Associate Professor Julie Stevens participated in a game of Shinny sledge hockey which is an annual tradition at the conference. Along with Paralympic Gold Medalist, Billy Bridges, the pair tested out the necessary equipment, courtesy of Easter Seals NB. Born in Summerside, PEI, Bridges, who lives with the effects of Spina Bifida, has limited mobility, which means he uses crutches and at times a wheelchair. However, his disability hasn’t stopped him from gaining international notoriety as a powerful hockey player. Now an 18-year veteran of Team Canada, Bridges has climbed the ranks to become one of the top players in the world. As a centreman, he is always a major scoring threat with his 80 M.P.H. slapshot that he takes with one arm. He’s participated in four Paralympic Games (’02, ’06, ‘10, ’14) where he’s twice earned all-star accolades and was a member of the Paralympic Gold Medal winning team in Torino, Italy in 2006 and Paralympic Bronze medalist from 2014 in Sochi, Russia.