One handed hockey player to try out for CHL's Denver Cutthroats

A one-handed Ontario man is attempting to make a professional hockey team as a walk-on.

Scott Stafford, who lost his left hand due to complications at birth, will attend open tryouts for the Central Hockey League's Denver Cutthroats this weekend, according to the Denver Post. The Cutthroats are a Colorado Avalanche affiliate.

"This kid is fun to watch," Cutthroats head coach Derek Armstrong told the Post. "It really is amazing."

Stafford, a 23-year-old from St. Thomas, Ont., has certainly never shied him away from a challenge in the past.

Last season, the right winger played for the Dundas Real McCoys of the Allan Cup Hockey league. Stafford posted 17 points in 22 games in his second season in the ACH, a senior men's league that often features retired NHLers.

“It’s only a disability if you let it be, and I never let it be an obstacle on or off the ice," Stafford said recently, when asked by Cable 14 in Hamilton about playing hockey with one hand.

Prior to his time with the McCoys, Stafford played in the Ontario junior B circuit for the St. Thomas Stars and Thorold Blackhawks.