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After reading a USA Hockey Magazine article about how Joe Rogers excelled in hockey despite an underdeveloped hand, Elliot Huels, who has a similar affliction, reached out for advice on how he too could play the game. the little hand thing. How people treated him because of it." Elliot struggled to keep the glove on his left hand, so his stick frequently dropped to the ice. The Huels improvised and used an Ace bandage to secure the glove and stick in place. The bandage extended up to the youngster's elbow. "We were concerned about the potential "When I saw the article, I figured Joe must be doing something to keep his glove on, so I reached out to him just to see how he handled the same problem when he was younger. "Joe was very up front with us and told us he went through the exact same thing when he was little. He answered all of our ques- tions and pointed us in the right direction." The Chicago-based Shriners Hospital for Children designed a special glove for Rogers when he played forward during his youth hockey days. Rogers shared as much information on the glove as possible with Ed Huels, who approached the Shriners facility in St. Louis. Rogers and the Huels family have been exchanging phone calls and emails ever since. Rarely do they go more than a month without touching base. "Joe has been very, very generous with of injury as he got older because we knew he wouldn't be able to drop his stick," Ed Huels said. his time, and he's been extremely helpful," Ed Huels said. "He always gets back to us right away if we have a question, you never feel like you're bothering him, and he's always happy to hear from us. He always wants to know how Elliot's doing. "I can't think of a better role model for my son. He's a stand-up guy, a straight-A student at one of the top schools in the country and he always has his head on straight. He's just a great, great kid." Rogers considers it the least he can do. His parents reached out to various sourc- es to help him develop as a youth hockey player and, of course, he had all those trading cards of Abbott to inspire him. Rogers has struck similar friendships with a few other children across North America. Rogers figured something might get lost in the translation, so he gave Ed Huels his cell phone number and encouraged him to call with any additional questions. "I wasn't making any sense at all to the occupational therapist, so I finally asked her to call Joe," Ed Huels said. "They must have talked for an hour and a half or two hours, going over ideas and designs for the glove until they finally came up with something where the glove would stay on Elliot's hand and he could drop his stick if he needed to." But Rogers didn't stop there. When Elliot began using the glove, Rogers wanted to know how well it worked. Before long, their correspondence expanded to other topics, such as school, family and friends. Cutline here please Cutline here please Cutline here please Cutline here please Cutline here please "I'm at a world-class university, playing for a great college hockey program, and I'm making the best of it every day," said Rogers, who is studying finance. "You always hope that someone can take something from your story, learn from it and be inspired to believe they can reach whatever goals they set their minds to, but sometimes, you never hear a response to your story. "I'm grateful the Huels and a few other parents have reached out to me. It's uplift- ing to see that I've been able to make an impact on kids, because I grew up in a little town and had no idea I'd be able to make an impact on kids across the United States and Canada. I guess it's my way of paying it forward." N Jim Leitner is the sports editor at the Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph Herald. ROLE MODEL FOR MY SON. HE'S A STAND-UP GUY, A STRAIGHT-A STUDENT ... HE'S JUST A GREAT, "I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER GREAT KID." — ED HUELS USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM DECEMBER.2012 21