Hockey: Amherst grad Aidan Brattoli gets ultimate goal, returns to ice following loss of foot in car accident

ELYRIA — Alumni games are usually an opportunity to relive past glory and remember past accomplishments with some of your closest friends. For Aidan Brattoli, Sunday's Amherst alumni hockey game was so much more. It was another step on a 33-month road to recovery for the 2021 Amherst graduate. It marked Brattoli's return to the ice after a 2022 automobile accident that caused him to lose his right foot and part of his right leg. "Being able to skate again has been a goal of mine since the accident," Brattoli said. "It was one of the hardest things I could think of to do and it was the main thing I wanted to do." Brattoli's mother, Koreen, said that even as Aidan endured 18 surgeries and multiple skin grafts it was always his goal to be able to rejoin his friends on the ice. "It's incredible," Koreen said. "He always said he wanted to get back on the ice, hang out with his buddies and have some fun playing hockey. It's great he's able to make that happen." In the past year, Aidan was fitted for a new prosthetic leg that allowed for more flexibility and movement that made skating again more of a realistic possibility. "I've been working with a new prosthetic company and from my first visit they've really been trying to get me back out on the ice," Aidan said. "They did everything they could to talk me into it and make sure that everything was ready to go." After a recent prosthetic appointment in which Aidan was encouraged to go home and try on his hockey skates, he reached out to Amherst coach Steve Morris about participating in the alumni game. Saturday, Brattoli took to the ice with Morris, his first skate since the crash, and decided he was ready to give the alumni game a try. "I had to try it out and see how it worked," Aidan said. "It was really great to be on the ice. It was an old feeling I hadn't experienced in a long time." Morris then announced on the Amherst team's hockey page on the social media network X that Brattoli would take part in his first hockey game in 1,405 days Sunday. "He's always remained so positive even after undergoing such a devastating injury," Morris said. "He's always maintained a positive attitude and one of his goal was to get back on the ice and skate again. I was with him when he got out on the ice. It was amazing. "Aidan was that type of individual before the accident so it's not surprising that he's been so positive. From the day he came out as a ninth grader he always worked hard and pushed himself." It's only fitting that Sunday's alumni game was played at the Elyria North Park rink, the same place Brattoli took up the sport nearly two decades prior. "He started playing hockey at age 3 in Elyria," Koreen said. "It was just something he was passionate about from the get-go. When he got into the Amherst program he always had the support of his teammates. I know it means a lot to him to be back out there." Brattoli took the ice with a smile on his face. The same smile his family and his former coach said he's maintained throughout his recovery. "Aidan never once said 'Why me?'" Koreen said. "A few days after his accident when he was able to understand that he had lost his leg and he just said, 'Well, I hope I'm still going to be able to drive.' He's always made everyone feel comfortable with his situation. Christmas came a few days late for us but we're so grateful that he's able to do what he wants to do again." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.