A former United States blind hockey player, U.S. Air Force veteran and Air Force Academy alum is set to be part of the 2025 NHL Veterans Appreciation night broadcast on Nov. 11.

The broadcast, which takes place on Veterans Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in Canada, is set to feature the Toronto Maple Leafs taking on the Boston Bruins and the Anaheim Ducks facing the Colorado Avalanche.

Craig Fitzpatrick was invited to be on the NHL on TNT desk before the doubleheader begins to discuss Veterans Day and blind hockey, as well as what he's done for the sport.

Fitzpatrick started attending hockey games as a student at Air Force Academy, and that's when he fell in love with the sport, which eventually took on a much bigger role in his life and led to him helping hundreds of blind adults and children.

While serving in the Air Force, Fitzpatrick was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, which causes progressive vision loss.

After he lost his vision, Fitzpatrick learned to skate and play hockey and eventually competed for the United States Blind Hockey team in 2018.

He has also studied the sport with NHL trainers and developed a Try Blind Hockey program that partners with NHL teams. He's helped grow the sport in Washington, DC, and Colorado, recently programming a skate for students from the Colorado School for the Deaf & Blind at AF Cadet Ice Arena.

Fitzpatrick wrote the book, Finding the Puck: Leadership Lessons from My Journey Through Blind Hockey, to share his experience that has served him well in hockey and in business as a chief innovation officer at a software company in Washington, DC.

The book will be released on Jan. 27, 2026, and includes a foreword from Kim Davis, the NHL's executive vice-president, social impact, growth initiatives and legislative affairs. The book's copyright was donated to the International Blind Hockey Foundation, and all proceeds will go toward trying to get blind hockey into the Paralympics.