Finding the Puck: Leadership Lessons from One Man’s Journey Through Blind Hockey

Ice hockey has long been considered one of the most dangerous sports. It’s full-contact, played at high speeds on freshly sharpened blades while chasing a small puck. Despite the physical and visual demands, ice hockey is also the only professional sport to have a blind league.

Craig Fitzpatrick is nearly completely blind but has taught over 300 blind adults and children to play ice hockey at a competitive level. As a member of the US Blind Hockey team, he competed at the international level, studied the game under NHL trainers, and brought disability awareness to the forefront through his Try Blind Hockey program that partners with NHL teams.

Part inspirational memoir, part leadership parable, Finding the Puck traces Fitzpatrick’s experience of losing his sight but finding himself once again after improbably lacing up his old skates. What follows is a journey of openness, humility, ambition, and advocacy that has served him on the ice as well as on the cutting-edge of the business world.

Readers are invited for the first time into this community of blind hockey, where resilience, trust, risk-taking, and perseverance are put to the test every day in illuminating, transformative ways.

Craig Fitzpatrick graduated from the US Air Force Academy and served 5 years in the US Air Force before being diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, leading to his near complete blindness and 100% service-related disability. He is currently the Director of Programs at SandboxAQ, an AI and Quantum Technology company that spun out of Google X.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (Summa Cum Laude)  from St Louis University. His charitable work focuses on serving as  a Senior Technology Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, where he guides C4ADS’ technology commercialization efforts. Craig played on the US National Blind Hockey Team from 2018-20. He has worked with the National Hockey League to build charitable programs that expand access to sport for disabled children across the United States and Canada, including programs with five NHL teams. Craig and his wife, Jenny, reside in Washington, DC and recently welcomed their first child, Pace.