NAHL seeking help for player

A press release from the North American Hockey League:

The North American Hockey League family is reaching out to the entire hockey community asking for the support of injured hockey player Derek Zike through an online auction in which all proceeds will benefit the Derek Zike Special Needs Trust.

Derek, a '92 player with the Chicago Fury hockey team, was seriously injured during a game at a tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., in January.

During the game, Derek attempted to make a turn and lost the edge of his skate, fell and crashed headfirst into the boards at a high rate of speed. Derek was not hit by anyone; it was quite simply the result of a lost edge while trying to turn.

Derek was seriously injured when he hit the boards. He sustained a burst fracture of the 5th cervical vertebrae, which in simple terms is a broken neck.

Derek has been recovering in the intensive care unit at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor since the accident.

Learn more about Derek at www.derekzike.com.

What are we asking for? The generous donation of any hockey items of value we can include in our online auction (from jerseys to equipment to memorabilia to tickets to camp/school invites and beyond).

Here is our timeline:

Deadline for commitment of auction items: Friday, April 17

Please include name of auction item, a brief description of item, a suggested opening bid for item and a photo, if possible.

NOTE: The items do not need to be in hand/shipped by April 17, just a commitment by that date to list the item and that you will able to ship the item to the NAHL Office (address to follow) by Monday, May 11.

Auction start date: Wednesday, May 20 (NAHL Entry Draft Day!)

Auction end date: Saturday, May 30

Please e-mail all donation information to Brian McDonough at bmcdonough@nahl.com.