Mar 1, 2021
It was the first or second day of training camp for the New Jersey Devils, when the first tower was hit. Three-time Stanley Cup winning New Jersey Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko, and his teammates had not yet hit the ice, and like the rest of the world, were now glued to the tv screen. Everyone was quickly sent home to be with their families. Daneyko says all he could do was hug his 2-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. He felt helpless. Every parent wants to protect their children.
About a week later, Daneyko read an article in the local newspaper, “The Star Ledger”, focusing on two boys whose dad died that day. James Martello had worked at the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, whose offices were on the 101st- 105th floors of One World Trade Center. The firm lost 658 employees that day, two-thirds of their New York City workforce. The newspaper article mentioned that Martello’s sons, James and Thomas, were big hockey fans. Ken Daneyko reached out to the reporter who wrote the article and asked him to invite the family to a Devils game. He figured if nothing else, it might give the kids a break, and maybe some solace.