Ozzy Wiesblatt never had a normal life. From the moment he was born, he was forced to adapt to things many people never have to do in their lifetime. One of these things was learning sign language, as both his parents Kim and Art were deaf.

Growing up, Kim was a mother of four boys and one girl. Eventually splitting with Art, Kim was challenged to raise all five children on her own. The entire family learned sign language before they even learned English.

The boys struggled a bit in school growing up because English wasn’t their first language so communicating with people was more difficult for them. Then Kim decided to get them into sports in hopes it would help their social life. She started with soccer, and then someone suggested to put them in hockey. She said no, she couldn’t afford it, but the man was able to convince her to do so. All four boys loved hockey and we’re really good at it.

But Kim was struggling. Her family was struggling. She has a hard time paying the costs of hockey for all four boys by herself. Until two local families generously opened their homes, allowing the boys to continue chasing their hockey dreams.

Each one was able to get into a WHL team in Alberta. In November 2019, Ozzy and his brother Orca played against each other for the first time. Ozzy was with the Prince Albert Raiders and Orca was with the Calgary Hitmen.

They’ve all been working the entire time they’ve been playing hockey to make the NHL. Ozzy Wiesblatt entered his first year of draft eligibility ranking 19th overall North American skaters. Although the season was shortened due to the pandemic, he placed second on the team in scoring with 70 points in 64 games. As a result, Ozzy was drafted in the first round, 31st overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

This heartwarming story shows that even through struggles, and doubt, following your dreams is the most important thing.