Volpatti Reflects on Life After Burns
The followng article featuring former Brown standout Aaron Volpatti appeared in the October 5 issue of the Province.
BY BEN KUZMA
THE PROVINCE
Burn marks remain visible amid skin grafts on his right hand, arm and legs. And the mangled skin on his abdomen is a constant reminder of how Aaron Volpatti's hockey career was put in serious jeopardy.
It's not the kind of story the Vancouver Canucks fourth-line winger is eager to tell because the chapters include bravado, stupidity, adversity and the resolve to turn the recklessness of youth into the maturity of a purposeful and well-educated NHL player. However, in the summer of 2005 it was more about a wide-eyed kid and his buddies playing with fire during a Vernon Vipers postseason camping trip. Volpatti not only received burns to 35 per cent of his body in the process, the Revelstoke native spent five weeks in hospital and was told that his playing days may have come to an end.
"It was a real eye-opener," Volpatti recalled Tuesday. "Teenage kids sometimes think they're invincible and I learned the hard way. I was 19 and we had lost out in the [BCHL] final against Surrey and we went camping as a team and one thing led to another. We were being a little bit stupid and I spilled a little bit of gas on myself and the next thing you know, I got badly burned.
Complete article can be accessed via the Province Web site by
clicking here.
