A local Hockey Dad is looking to use his skills to help another hockey family, the Straschnitzkis.

Phil Dell, whose son Aaron is the backup goalie for the San Jose Sharks, was inspired by a post on Social Media, where the Straschtnizki family talked about one of their big needs going forward.

Airdrie's Phil Dell hopes to volunteer his time to renovate the Straschnitzki house (Photo Courtesy: Phil Dell)

“There was a whole little interview on them and they were talking about the changes in their lives that were gonna happen. One of them would be accommodating Ryan’s situation being able to be wheelchair accessible. I thought, since I’ve been drywalling for 24 years and I know lots of people in the trade, maybe I can open some doors and do some volunteer work for them.”

Dell says many tradespeople have already inquired and are ready to work, he’s just waiting to see if he will get the call.

Dell already has support from one of his work partners who didn’t hesitate to lend his hand.

“This hit home for him because he played for North Battleford and did a lot of bus travel as well. Even though Ryan is from Airdrie and we follow lots of the Airdrie kids, he knows lots of family in Saskatchewan too so when I asked them if they wanted to volunteer for this they said, when and where.”

When looking at Ryan’s story and determination, Dell sees the same fight in Ryan that he saw in his son Aaron, who went through several leagues and tryouts before making the NHL.

“My son making every step on the ladder all the way up, it’s never too late, you never give up. Ryan’s one of those kids that his heart is inspirational. If anybody can recover from this, this kid can. His attitude, it just makes everybody want to give.”

Dell says that they hope to launch an e-mail account soon that will be open to anyone in the trades who is able to give time or equipment to the housing project.

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