Jean Labonté is a Canadian sledge hockey

Sledge hockey

Sledge hockey is a sport that was designed to allow participants who have a physical disability to play the game of ice hockey. Ice sledge hockey was invented in the early 1960s in Stockholm, Sweden at a rehabilitation center...

 player.

Labonté was diagnosed with osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is an aggressive cancerous neoplasm arising from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin that exhibit osteoblastic differentiation and produce malignant osteoid...

 in his left tibia

Tibia

The tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....

 in 1986 at the age of 17 and finally lost his leg at the age of 20, in 1990. After his amputation

Amputation

Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...

, Labonté turned his sights towards sledge hockey

Sledge hockey

Sledge hockey is a sport that was designed to allow participants who have a physical disability to play the game of ice hockey. Ice sledge hockey was invented in the early 1960s in Stockholm, Sweden at a rehabilitation center...

 and made the Canadian National Sledge hockey team for the first time in 1996. He was on the Canadian team that won the 2006 sledge hockey gold medal at the 2006 Winter Paralympics

2006 Winter Paralympics

The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games, the ninth Winter Paralympics, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy. They were also the first Paralympics to use the new paralympics logo....

 in Torino. He was the captain of the Canadian Team from the 2007-08 season until his retirement after the 2009-2010 season. He studied at l'Université du Québec en Outaouais and currently works at Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...

 as a software designer.

International career

Labonté was named on the Canadian National Sledge hockey team for the first time in 1996, at the age of 26. His first international tournament was the 1996 IPC World Championships held in Nynäshamn, Sweden. Labonté was team Canada's captain from the 2007-2008 season until his retirement after the 2009-2010 season.

Labonté was the flag bearer for Canada at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver.

International

Year	Team	Comp	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996	Canada	ISHWC 1996 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships The first IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships was held March, 1996 Nynäshamn, Sweden. Participating countries: Canada, Estonia, Japan, Norway, Sweden and USA...	-	-	-	-	-
1998	Canada	PARA 1998 Winter Paralympics The 1998 Winter Paralympics, the seventh Winter Paralympics, were held alongside the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan from March 5 to March 14, 1998. They were the first Paralympic Winter Games to be held outside Europe.- Sports :...	5	0	1	1	4
2000	Canada	ISHWC 2000 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships The 2nd IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships was held between March 20, 2000 and March 25, 2000 at the E Center in West Valley City, Utah, USA. 2002 Winter Olympics host Salt Lake City, hosted these Championships as the first test event for the Paralympic Winter Games in 2002...	6	1	2	3	4
2002	Canada	PARA 2002 Winter Paralympics The 2002 Winter Paralympics, the eighth Winter Paralympics, were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, from March 7 to March 16, 2002. A total of 416 athletes from 36 nations participated....	6	2	2	4	6
2004	Canada	ISHWC 2004 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships The 3rd IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships was held between April 13, 2004 and April 24, 2004 at Kempehallen in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Örnsköldsvik was also the host of the first Paralympic Winter Games in 1976. Participating countries: 104 athletes from eight nations Canada, Estonia,...	5	0	0	0	0
2006	Canada	PARA 2006 Winter Paralympics The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games, the ninth Winter Paralympics, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy. They were also the first Paralympics to use the new paralympics logo....	5	1	1	2	4
2008	Canada	ISHWC 2008 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships The 4th IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships was held between March 29, 2008 and April 5, 2008 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA. The venue were the New England Sports Center...	6	1	2	3	6
2009	Canada	ISHWC 2009 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships The 5th IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships took place in early 2009. The competition was divided into two tournaments, with Tournament B held from 15 to 21 March in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and Tournament A held from 9 to 16 May in Ostrava, the Czech Republic. A total of thirteen teams...	5	1	3	4	0
2010	Canada	PARA 2010 Winter Paralympics The 2010 Winter Paralympics, officially the X Paralympic Winter Games, or the 10th Winter Paralympics, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada from March 12 to 21, 2010. The Opening Ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing Ceremony in Whistler...	5	1	2	3	2
TOTALS		ISHWC	22	3	7	10	10
TOTALS		PARA	21	4	6	10	16

External links

• Player profile - Hockey Canada