From trash to treasure: Sunnybrook family member turns broken hockey sticks into canes for those in need

For many hockey fans, watching your favourite player break their stick mid-breakaway is devastating. Not only has the excitement of scoring a goal disappeared, but this once-useful and expensive piece of equipment is now headed to the landfill, never to be used again. For Don Panko, however, these broken sticks are just the start of something amazing.

Years ago, Don’s friend fractured his leg in a motorcycle accident. Knowing his friend would need help getting around, Don quickly came up with an idea – take an old hockey stick and repurpose it into a cane.

More than 30 years later, these canes, or as Don calls them, “Wockey Sticks,” have become a part of how he gives back to those in need.

Every two weeks, Don picks up old, broken hockey sticks and rubber flooring, donated by the management team at the Canlan Sport complex in Scarborough, Ontario. Don uses the broken hockey stick as the foundation for the canes and the rubber flooring to cap off the tip.

Don also uses scrap wood, donated by the Home Depot in Markham, Ontario to fill the inside of the hollow carbon fibre hockey sticks. With the support of these community partners, Don only ever needs to purchase screws and glue to bring his creations to life.

Don credits his wife, Slava, for inspiring him to continue creating Wockey Sticks, even into his later years. Slava, a retired nurse, spent much of her career caring for those in need, a sentiment Don hopes to carry on through Wockey Sticks.

Left: Don in his home workshop where he makes Wockey Sticks. Right: Don and his wife Slava as her physiotherapy appointment at St. John’s Rehab.

“Slava and I give Wockey Sticks to those in need in hopes they will pass them on to the next person,” says Don. “It’s all about creating the change you want to see in the world.”

Don and Slava carry Wockey Sticks with them everywhere they go, even taking them on vacation to hand out.

“We always have a few Wockey Sticks on hand just in case we come across someone who may need one,” he says. “It’s our little way of giving back.”

Among the many lucky Wockey Stick recipients is former Sunnybrook patient and NHL Hall of Famer, Red Kelly. After meeting Red at a medical clinic, Don offered him a Wockey Stick, which he eventually sported at his Jersey retirement ceremony in Detroit.

Former Sunnybrook patient and NHL Hall of Famer, Red Kelly holding a Wockey Stick at his jersey retirement ceremony in Detroit, Michigan.

Over the years, Don has created more than 3,000 Wockey Stocks, turning out five to 10 each week, many of which end up in the hands of patients at Sunnybrook’s St. John’s Rehab, where Slava receives her physiotherapy treatment.

By creating Wockey Sticks, Don is giving back to his community by transforming broken sports equipment into something meaningful. Through this work, he hopes his small act of service will inspire others to pay it forward in any way they can.