CLINTON, ONT. -- Jesse and Cody McIntyre were given a hero’s welcome at their hometown rink Tuesday afternoon.
The twins from Brucefield, near Clinton, were honoured by their former high school for bringing home silver medals for Canada from the 2019 Deaflympics in Italy.
The duo have been playing hockey since they were youngsters, even though they’ve also been profoundly deaf since the age of four.
Both of the now 25 year olds wear cochlear implants to allow them to hear day-to-day. But as members of Canada’s Deaflympics Team, they had to take the hearing aids out.
“It’s certainly a challenge, but you learn to play the game silently. As a defenceman, you watch the glass to see who’s behind you, since you can’t hear them,” says Jesse.
Cody calls representing Canada a huge honour, one he hopes he and his brother can do again in the future.
The pair were given Central Huron Secondary School hockey jerseys from their former high school, as part of a ceremony at the Clinton Arena.
