Young superfan inspires Del Zotto
Teenager’s courageous fight against cerebral palsy emboldens Canucks D-man
A myriad of attractions and distractions await NHL players on a day off in the city that never sleeps.
For Michael Del Zotto, whose quick maturation started at age 19 as the youngest New York Ranger to skate in a season opener at Madison Square Garden, there were long-standing friendships to rekindle Thursday.
There was family to visit. There was dinner in the culinary capital before facing the New Jersey Devils today and the Rangers in a Sunday matinee. There was also strengthening a special bond with his biggest fan on Thanksgiving Day.
The Canucks defenceman played for former Vancouver bench bosses John Tortorella and Alain Vigneault during 4½ seasons in the Big Apple. However, the most lasting impression was made by a little guy struggling with a big problem in his ongoing battle with cerebral palsy.
Del Zotto first met Liam Traynor following a January 2010 practice through the Garden of Dreams initiative that positively impacts the lives of children facing obstacles. And when the rookie blue-liner caught a glimpse of the wheelchair-bound hockey fanatic with a big smile plastered on his eightyear-old face, there was an instant connection.
“I saw him through the glass and said hello,” recalled Del Zotto. “We took a picture and I gave him a game stick and I was 19 and he looked like a baby. I didn’t know at that time it would become a relationship that I would cherish.
“Every single time I talk to Liam, it’s how positive and how upbeat he is. He’s always supportive of me and to have that, what I’m dealing with on any given day is so minuscule. It puts everything in perspective and changes your whole outlook on going to the rink and how you perform.”
Imagine having a medically challenged kid in your corner who wasn’t afraid to chirp Tortorella or Vigneault about what the coaches were and weren’t doing for his guy?
Maybe that’s why Tortorella is also close to Traynor: his personality amid considerable physical challenges — including multiple surgeries, vision problems and enduring constant pain — is infectious.
He knows what brand of skates players wear. Same goes for sticks and gloves and he’s so wary of systems play that little escapes his critical eye. He left messages for Tortorella when a struggling Del Zotto needed time in the minors when his game went awry.
There was a disconnect with Vigneault when Del Zotto was traded to the Nashville Predators in January 2014 for Kevin Klein. It turned Traynor’s world upside down because it came nearly four years to the day he first met Del Zotto.
The offensive-minded Del Zotto had a tough time adjusting to Vigneault’s more conservative system for blue-liners. As a leftshot defenceman, a move to the right side in a pairing with Marc Staal only made the learning curve steeper and his eventual exit the subject of ongoing rumours.
Amid all this, Traynor had his own struggles, but his buddy was leaving. That was crushing. Del Zotto was so taken by the support that he flew Traynor and his family to Nashville to see a game and have a reunion.
“It was pretty special,” said Del Zotto. “It was a tough time for me. The first time I was traded and getting to understand that it is a business and you learn it sometimes the hard way. Things weren’t going well in New York.”
The relationship with Traynor has had a profound affect on Del Zotto in how he approaches his professional and personal life.
“I do a lot of work in Vancouver with the Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House,” he said of charitable endeavours he openly embraces. “We were going through a tough time as a team and I know I could be playing better. But when you leave the rink, you look at the real problems and the real issues out there.
“You see what these kids are dealing with and they still have a smile on their faces every single day.”
The perspective has allowed the 27-year-old Del Zotto to handle the highs and lows that could derail others.
He struggled at times Wednesday in Pittsburgh, taking tripping and hooking minors as the Penguins pressed, but he also had a pair of assists in the 5-2 victory.
His outlook glass is usually half full because he has seen a lot and endured a lot.
Playing for Tortorella, you get support when playing well and an earful when you’re not. But the lines of communication were always wide open and, of course, Tortorella was always vocal.
“One of the biggest learning experiences I ever had was on national TV,” he said of a rookie brain cramp.
“I took a penalty and didn’t agree with the call. I talked back to ref, got an unsportsmanlike penalty and they ended up scoring on us in the last couple of seconds. It was the game-winning goal.
“I remember skating across the ice and Torts was waiting for me — not at the forward end, but at the defensive end of the bench. I could see the fire in his eyes and I was wondering if there was any way I could skate just to the room.
“I got to the bench and he gives me a few choice words. He walks away and walks back and gives me a couple more and then comes back again and gives me a few more. Safe to say, I learned my lesson. It thickened my skin.”
That’s because Tortorella was more in the corner of a kid who needed to strut his offensive stuff.
“He always told me to keep my swagger,” said Del Zotto. “Some will look at that as being arrogant or cocky, but he knew I needed that to be successful. It’s having the confidence on the ice and even when making a mistake, to not have it drag you down.”