Former BU Hockey Player Travis Roy Has Died At 45

Just awful, gutting news. Heartbreak for New England and beyond. 

Travis Roy, the promising freshman forward on a stacked BU team who was felled by a spinal cord injury 11 seconds into his first shift, died today at 45 years old of complications from his paralyis according to the Boston Globe. After his life-altering injury, Roy inspired millions and helped raised millions more with his advocacy of spinal cord injury research. 

A born Mainer, Roy became a Bostonian and familiar face around town as he ran the Travis Roy Foundation. In addition to raising money for research, the Foundation also issues grants to help those in similar need.

This is just such an incredibly sad day today everywhere but particularly Maine and Boston. Travis was a quintessential New England kid who got to live his dream for a cruelly short time. But after his accident, he made it his mission to help others and work towards a cure up until the end. In doing so, he became an inspiration to countless people. Travis Roy is still connected to so many local guys and they're all hurting today as is his coach Jack Parker.

We send our deepest condolences to his family, friends, teammates, co-workers, and anybody else that he touched in his lifetime.

Nine days ago, the BU Hockey Twitter account posted this thread 25 years after his injury. If you're not familiar with Travis or his story, you can read up here.

If you'd like to donate to the Travis Roy Foundation, you can do so here: