Blind player gets NHL's attention by helping others

Mark DeMontis had a vision for his hockey career. He would impress in minor hockey, earn an NCAA scholarship and get drafted by an NHL team.

- GILBERT NGABO

Then, at 17, the Toronto native suddenly lost his central vision and was diagnosed with a rare eye condition known as Leber's optic neuropathy. He was crushed.

"I was in a lot of denial when it happened," said DeMontis, who is legally blind and has only peripheral vision. "The first question I asked the doctor was not about how much sight I was going to lose. It was about whether I would still be able to play hockey.

"It didn't matter that I wasn't able to read or drive or see faces anymore. What mattered was whether

I would be able to play the game that I love." He eventually would.