In the world of hockey, both triumph and adversity can often share the spotlight. For varsity goaltender senior Isak Bildtsen, these conflicting experiences displayed themselves in the sophomore year of his SPA hockey career. After an accident outside of hockey occurred, his chances of securing a spot on the varsity team dwindled.
What would lead to a battle for a spot on the varsity team began with a snowboarding accident: “It was over Christmas break; I was snowboarding with my dad and I hit a fence going pretty fast,” Bildtsen said.

As a result, Bildtsen was met with a severe concussion and a long recovery process. During that time, Bildtsen’s participation in any physical activity was heavily limited, setting him back for the hockey season. Not only did the reduction of practice hinder his condition in terms of endurance and cardio, but most importantly, his vision was impacted. “Vision is a huge part of the game…tracking pucks and all that. I had to see some doctors to try and get my vision back. […] Even now though, I feel like sometimes it’s still not to the point it was before I had the injury,” Bildtsen said.
When Bildtsen was able to make his return to the ice, he reached out to his coaches about his injury, and to his surprise, a wave of support was offered to him: “I talked to the coaches maybe a month and a half after it happened…and yeah, they were supportive of me. And obviously they said they would have given me a chance had [my concussion] not happened,” he said. “They said that they were going to lock up my snowboard for next season [too].”
However, although Bildtsen’s concussion limited all playing time during the season, including on the JV team, an opportunity to play with the varsity team struck at the end. “I couldn’t actually play in a game for like two and a half months. [But] I was able to actually play in the last varsity game of the season before sections against Highland,” he said. “It was nice that the coaches gave me a shot anyways, even though I had been injured.”

To anyone battling through an injury during the sports season, Bildtsen offers some pieces of advice: “I would try to stay active as much as the doctors will let you. Try to just do something even if it’s not related to your sport,” he said. “And also make sure to rely on the people around you, especially your teachers, your family members, your coaches and trainer, because they’ll help you a lot more than you’ll realize.”