Zach Muth looks like any other 10-year-old playing hockey for the Arapahoe Squirt Minor team. He skates on the open ice, loves to put the puck in the back of the net and is even willing to get off a good check if necessary. But Muth’s path to the ice is unlike any of his teammates.

When Muth was just five years old he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or ALL. Less than one week after his diagnosis Muth started to undergo chemotherapy treatment. He would continue to get chemo until June of 2007, a full 3 ½ after his first session.

Muth was not the only member of his family to be dealt a devastating medical blow. Both his uncle and mother became severely sick and his mother became confined to a respirator at a hospital for two years. She wasn’t the only one who was making a home at the hospital.

“When Zach started going through chemo, we lived in the hospital for six months,” his father, Steve, says. “After he came out of the hospital, we were told to get him into a normal life situation.”

That normal life situation turned out to be skating. Steve and Zach moved to Houston to be closer to relatives. While there, the Muths decided to head to the skating rink because of its relative cleanliness on the ice.

“The chemotherapy kills white blood cells and gave Zach Neutropenia, which weakens his immune system, so he must be in a sterile environment,” Steve says. “A pool has a lot of germs, whereas an ice rink was pretty clean.”

When arriving at the rink, skating wasn’t always as easy as it is now. With the chemo completely weakening his body, he was sometimes unable to completely support his weight.

However, Muth’s family would not let him down.

“He was weak from the chemotherapy, so we had his cousin Christopher and his cousin Danica holding his arms so he could skate,” Steve explains.

It was both Christopher and Danica’s first time on the ice. Chris is now a high school hockey player and Danica is now a nationally-known figure skater.

Eventually, Zach’s mom was able to get out of the hospital, so he and his father returned to the Denver area. Despite still undergoing chemotherapy, Zach decided he wanted to play hockey.

“He was going back and fourth between hockey and hospitals,” Steve says. “All he wanted to do is skate.”

It wasn’t always easy, due to the chemotherapy and the fact Zach literally had a piece of medical equipment in his chest.
“In the beginning we had a port (medical device which is attached directly to a vein) placed in his chest, so we were worried about physical contact,” says Steve.

But Zach was able to overcome his disadvantages and signed up for Arapahoe Squirt hockey team where he found a lifelong love.

“Hockey helped me a lot with keeping my confidence up and trusting other people,” Zach says.
 
The good news for Zach was not just on the ice. Last year on the week of Father’s Day, Zach underwent his last session of chemotherapy.

Last year, Zach was also given the opportunity to travel to Detroit to see his favorite team, the Red Wings, in action. The whole trip was set up through the Make-A-Wish foundation and was something he and his father will never forget.
Zach even got to join the Red Wings on the ice at a public practice.

“The first night, we went to practice at Joe Louis Arena and he went in front of 8,000 fans and started skating and shooting with the team,” says Steve. “Afterwards, we were eating and people would come up to him like he was a star. He thought that was pretty cool.”

In addition to practicing with team, Zach also got to mingle with the players in the locker room. Nicklas Lidstrom and Dominic Hasek were especially nice to Zach and his family and are now his favorite players.

The Muths attended the last Red Wings game of the 2006-07 regular season courtesy of the team. Detroit defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 7-2 in front of more than 20,000 fans.

The whole trip was made even better by random strangers reaching out to Zach and his family.

When Zach returned to Colorado, he instantly wanted to return to the rink.

His current team, Squirt C Arapahoe, is currently leading its division with just one loss.

And while Zach may not be the leading scorer, he is definitely making his presence felt.

“Zach isn’t the statistical leader or anything, but he is a great skater, he’s unselfish, he always listens intently to the coaches,” Steve notes. “He’s the only one on the team that plays defense and offense.”

For Steve, watching his son play hockey is a thrill that for a long time didn’t seem possible.

“It’s the greatest thing in the universe. When he scores or has an assist or makes a play on defense, it’s an incredible feeling,” he says. “It is like living in a dream world.”

Zach has seemingly overcome every obstacle that has been thrown at him. However, he does not want to forget the people that helped him along the way.

For his upcoming birthday, Zach wants his friends to donate the money they would have used on a gift to the hospital that helped take care of him when he was undergoing chemotherapy.

As for the future, Zach plans on one day playing in the NHL for his beloved Red Wings. The odds are against anyone becoming a NHL player, but that does not seem to be the case for Zach.

“That first time on the ice was great. I knew from that time that I was going to be great,” he says.

And with Zach’s knack of overcoming the odds, it won’t be any surprise if he one day realizes his dream.