The St. Louis Blues, in conjunction with their alumni association, have donated a total of $10,000 to the family of former Blues and Edmonton Oilers forward Kyle Brodziak after his brother and nephew were struck by an out-of-control vehicle.
On Tuesday, Ryan and Ozzy Brodziak were out for a walk with their dog, Gouda, in their Sherwood Park neighbourhood when a vehicle drove onto the sidewalk and hit the three of them. Both Ryan and Ozzy are currently under medical supervision, while Gouda has been released from emergency veterinary care and is recovering at home.
According to a GoFundMe set up earlier this week, Ryan “suffered a significant spinal cord injury, resulting in multiple fractures to his spine” and remains paralyzed while awaiting emergency surgery. 11-month-old Ozzy is recovering from fractures to his skull and left arm at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.
The Blues, with whom Kyle Brodziak played from 2015 to 2018, shared a message of support to their official website on Thursday and announced that they had donated $5,000 to the GoFundMe, a figure matched by the team’s alumni association.
We’re coming together to help the extended family of former Blue Kyle Brodziak.
DETAILS ➡️ https://t.co/gD7Jni9qbu https://t.co/gD7Jni9qbu
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) August 15, 2024
Kyle Brodziak started and ended his NHL career as a member of the Oilers, spending parts of four seasons in Edmonton from 2005-06 to 2008-09 before returning to his hometown team to play 70 more games in 2018-19. In 917 career NHL games over parts of 14 seasons with the Oilers, Blues, and Minnesota Wild, the St. Paul, AB product collected 129 goals and 296 points.
As described in the GoFundMe, which has raised $188,930 through more than 1,700 donations as of 3:30 p.m. MT on Thursday, Ryan Brodziak is “a pillar of the Edmonton community” and “a loving husband, a new dad, and one of the kindest souls you could ever meet.” He has owned and operated multiple restaurants in the Edmonton area and co-organizes a Bikeathon each year to benefit the city’s unhoused population.
You can visit the fundraising page for the Brodziak family here.