DULUTH — Matt Caple, 38, walks through the doors of the Essentia Duluth Heritage Center every Wednesday night with a bag of hockey equipment slung over his shoulder.
He considers it therapy.
Caple moves through the halls of the rink and enters the locker room with nearly 20 other men. Some people lace up their skates, tape their hockey sticks, stretch, and share stories of days gone by over a beer.
There is a palpable sense of joy and camaraderie among the Caples.
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Although they come from different backgrounds, they almost all have one thing in common. That is, they serve in the U.S. military and most are medically disabled as a result of their military service.
The men in that locker room compete for the Lake Superior Warriors, a nonprofit organization primarily for disabled veterans. Caple founded the organization in his 2019 year and has since helped hundreds of veterans build better lives.
“Being involved in a community gives you a sense of purpose,” Caple says. “A lot of them leave the military and lose that brotherhood. If you get them into a group and unite them, they can get a sense of purpose again. For a lot of them, that's what they're looking for. That’s it.”
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Caple served in the Army for eight years and specialized in satellite communications since the mid-2000s.
By the end of his military career, his military service disabled Caple, as did those with whom he played. Upon returning to Minnesota several years after completing his military service, Caple learned of the Minnesota Warriors, a pioneering organization in the disabled veterans hockey community.
“Even though I no longer wore my boots, I always felt a calling to serve,” Caple said. “Hockey is a part of my life, and when I first heard about the Minnesota Warriors in the Twin Cities, I knew I had to start something like that here.”
Caple quickly got to work, organizing the Duluth Warriors, an affiliate of the Minnesota Warriors, and began serving disabled veterans in the Northland region around 2016. He founded the organization with partners Jim Rich, Jeff Dwyer, and John Tobin.
“You could say we were the original four,” Caple said. “We founded the Duluth Warriors and it really filled a void for me. It's hockey, it's veterans, it's rehabilitation, and this is why I will continue to serve without wearing my boots anymore.” It was the way I could – I was completely satisfied.”
For the next three years, Caple and the Duluth Warriors will continue to support the community by providing new and unique ways for veterans to return to daily life, survive, and thrive after years of systematic service to the cause. contributed to.
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In 2019, Caple and about 30 players decided to part ways with the Duluth Warriors and start a new program, the Lake Superior Warriors, unaffiliated with the former Twin Cities, Minnesota-based organization.
“We are independent from that umbrella,” Caple said. “Our mission is strongly aligned with theirs, but we also allow non-disabled veterans to participate, and that's the difference between us and them. Because their bylaws don't allow for that. , we became independent.”
The Warriors will face the Hockey Finder team, a website that organizes recreational games and leagues across the country. The Caples Warriors compete throughout the year in tournaments both within Minnesota and around the country.
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A local hockey player who wanted to remain anonymous and support disabled veterans spent some ice time at the Heritage Center. The United Heroes League in Hastings, Minn., is donating most of the equipment, and major corporate sponsors include Bauer and others. Thanks to the generosity of the community and sponsors, there was little upfront cost for the Warriors.
“I've seen this program save men's lives.”
In the five years it has served the community, the organization now has 75 active members, including two women, and has changed the long-term prospects of hundreds of local veterans.
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Mr. Tobin, 59, is himself a disabled veteran who served in the Navy from 1984 to 1991 as an electronics engineer in communications. He has seen firsthand the magic of the Lake Superior Warriors over the past five years.
“I've seen this program save men's lives, and it's changed mine,” Tobin said. “I've seen players go to St. Cloud over and over again for rehab, and now they're able to stay clean and sober for years. That would never have happened. They died. It would have been.”
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The data reported by the Department of Veterans Affairs in its 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Report, which supports Tobin's observations regarding chemical dependence and suicide, is shocking. Their records show that from 2001 to 2021, age-adjusted suicide rates for male and female veterans increased across the board.
From 2020 to 2021 alone, age-adjusted suicide rates among veterans increased by 6.3% for men and 24.1% for women. In 2021, the age-adjusted suicide rate for male veterans in the United States was 43.4% higher than for non-veteran males. For American women, it was 166.1% higher than for civilian women.
“Suicide rates, which we are currently battling, have risen sharply since 2001 and are not slowing down,” Caple said. “The goal is to save as many people as possible, but even if I can save one person, that's enough for me. Then the mission will be accomplished.”
Christopher Roemhildt, who has served in various roles at the Duluth Veterinary Center since 2007 and became director a year ago, said Lake Superior Warriors provides a creative and therapeutic space for veterans. .
“That locker room might be the best place for those players to talk about it,” Roemhild said. “I intend to promote the veterinary center and its activities, but it is also very important to have connections with informal social support.”
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Mr. Rohmhildt has served thousands of veterans during his nearly 20 years at the Duluth Veterinary Center. He believes that a professional environment is essential, but its value increases exponentially when combined with the kind of informal social interaction the Warriors provide.
“I can't stress this enough,” Roemhild said. “The members of that Warrior team are creating a community and giving that space moments that you don't get in the clinical professional setting. It's essentially social medicine.”
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Rohmhildt suggested that veterans suffering from anxiety, depression, chemical dependence or post-traumatic stress call the Duluth Veterinary Center. For those who qualify, the service is free for life.
The Lake Superior Warriors and their social medicine are helping Langston Lalor, 33, of Proctor. Lalor lives with service-related back problems and what he describes as “mental health issues.”
Lalor served in the U.S. Navy from 2008 to 2014, working as a survival equipper for the crew. For him, the Warriors provide a bond and brotherhood he hasn't experienced since his military service.
“We have people here who have struggled with addiction, suicide, mental health and physical disabilities,” Lalor said. “We come here and have a good time, but at the end of the day it's all about the team. The team is bigger than hockey. They're brothers.”
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Tobin recalled one fighter early in the program who was battling severe mental health issues, including suicidal thoughts, after returning from combat. Tobin had a memorable interaction with the player and his wife and child over breakfast before the National Guard hockey tournament about five years ago.
“Within a few months, we were in the military and he was there with his wife and daughter,” Tobin recalled. “We were eating breakfast and his daughter said, “Isn't it nice to have daddy back again?'' I said I had to go[to the bathroom]and I just went and sat down and took my eyes off and screamed because that guy was once on the brink. ”
Lake Superior Warriors has helped hundreds of veterans with varying degrees of medical disability, both physical and mental, get through life.
Jason Erickson, 34, has been with the Air National Guard since 2007 as a heavy equipment operator who builds and repairs runways. The Proctor native has completed four overseas deployments, including two to Afghanistan and one each to Syria and Qatar.
“I have hearing problems, which is common in the military,” Erickson said. “Hearing is very important, especially when working on runways with heavy equipment. I don't like to call myself a disabled veteran, but technically I am.”
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Erickson praised the Lake Superior Warriors' dedication to veterans and the support of local heroes by those involved.
“It’s a very welcoming group,” Erickson said. “It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, everyone is welcoming and it's a close-knit group. It's a really positive environment where you can be who you are. Pretend to be someone else. No need to.”
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So when Caple, Tobin and the other veterans walk into a locker room filled with old hockey sticks and irritating, sweaty equipment every Wednesday night, many of them are concerned about the outcome of the game. No matter what, you feel like you've won something.
“I think it gives a lot of us a new lease on life,” Tobin said. “I get to skate with friends, meet new people, work out, and have fun, because when you get injured, life isn't fun anymore. Sometimes it's hard to keep going, but Wednesday night… I can always look forward to skating.”
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