Justin Rayner had his hockey career cut short after he suffered a broken neck during a game that put him in a wheelchair at 13 years old.

Despite his injury, Rayner has been determined to find a career in the sport that he loves and the Moose Jaw Warriors have stepped up to provide that opportunity with Rayner being hired by the team as a WHL scout over the weekend.

“It’s incredible,” said Rayner, who resides in Regina. “I’ve always wanted a job in hockey, obviously before I got hurt I thought that would be the NHL, but this is the next step.”

Rayner’s life changed when he lost an edge during a shot and slammed into the boards, fracturing his C4 and C5 vertebrae which resulted in a spinal cord injury and ended his dream of playing in the NHL.

The 25-year-old now has a chance to be involved in hockey as more than a fan, which is something that he’s really looking forward to.

“I’m incredibly thankful and I want to thank Mr. (Alan) Millar and the Warriors’ organization for allowing me to have this opportunity,” said Rayner, who joined the Warriors for training camp on Saturday.

“I spent my free time watching hockey – Juniors, SJHL, NHL, AHL and even some European games if the steam is good enough.”

Warriors’ Administrative Assistant Marianne Simon introduced Warriors’ general manager Alan Millar to Rayner and the two connected over a shared experience as Millar suffered the same injury, although not as serious as Rayner, when he was 15.

“Justin’s story is close to my heart and I was fortunate to walk away from the broken neck,” said Millar.

“I thought at one time that I was a pretty good player and I never played again after that injury and I had to find another way to have a career in the game. 34 years later and close to 30 years in the game, I’ve been fortunate, so when I heard Justin’s story and his passion, this was a no-brainer to make him a part of the Warriors’ scouting staff.”

Rayner joined the Warriors at training camp on Saturday, meeting the rest of the team’s scouting staff and getting a chance to sit in on their meetings as they evaluated the two scrimmages that day.

“It was really cool to see the behind scenes stuff that goes on in a hockey organization because as a fan you just see the product on the ice, you don’t see all the hard work that everyone behind the scenes puts in, which is cool to see,” said Rayner.

Rayner’s role with the Warriors will be to do advanced scouting of WHL teams as they come through Regina to play the Pats. He will then report back to Warriors’ General Manager Alan Millar.

“He’s fanatical when it comes to sports and hockey and he’s got a passion to do something in the game, he’s also got a passion for the Moose Jaw Warriors that is much more than he has for the Regina Pats, which is great for our hockey club,” said Millar.

“He’s going to file some valuable information for us and we’re looking forward to him being a part of the team.”