Two brothers from Franklin, Caeden and Devin Parisi, are members of the Boston Whiplash, the first-ever U.S. Volt Hockey team. Thanks to their recent efforts, the sport has been officially incorporated into the Hockey Hall of Fame (www.hhof.com) in Toronto, Canada.

Volt Hockey is a high-impact international parasport in which athletes drive specialized, battery-powered power wheelchairs equipped with a fixed paddle that can reach speeds of up to 10 mph. The sport, custom-designed for athletes with significant upper- and lower-body mobility impairments (such as muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy) who cannot play traditional standing or manual-wheelchair sports, was created in the 1990s with a donation from the Crown Prince of Denmark to the Danish Disabled Sports Federation. The sport was introduced into Canada in 2016, through Variety, The Children's Charity, in Ontario, and, with support of the Toronto Maple Leafs and other charitable organizations, became established throughout much of Canada.

The Boston Whiplash team was established in 2021, after the Boston Self Help Center (BSHC), a Boston-area non-profit run by and for people with disabilities, purchased its first set of volt hockey chairs.

"They started in 2022," says 23-year Franklin resident Mark Parisi, of his two sons, noting that the Boston Whiplash was begun "by a Northeastern student as a project for his major." Caeden and Devin, he says, became involved through JB's Keys to DMD (www.jbskeys.org) , a Dover-based organization for boys and young men with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

That year, the first ever Volt Hockey World Cup in Gävle, Sweden welcomed 22 teams consisting of over 200 players from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Canada and the USA.

While in Toronto, Ontario in 2025 for a tournament, the Parisis, like North American hockey fans, made their way to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"There was a 'Changing the Face of Hockey' display that showcases all the adapted versions of regular ice hockey," says Caeden Parisi, 20, a 2024 Tri-County graduate who works full-time as a BIM Technician for ADRM. "I noticed volt hockey was not there," says Caeden, who approached the front desk requesting to add the sport. He later emailed his proposal to the contact he was given, and "they got back to me the next day to talk about adding it," says Caeden, pleasantly surprised to even receive a response. "They had me send a couple items up there to put on display, my jersey I wore for the past couple years until we switched our jerseys, a paddle that had been used in one of the past tournaments, and a ball and a plaque from the Volt Hockey World Cup."

Caeden had the pleasure, then, at the end of 2025 in Sweden, to be able to announce to the Volt Hockey World Cup attendees that "volt hockey was now in the Hockey Hall of Fame," he says."

Both Caeden and his younger brother, enjoy practicing every week at the Charles River Campus of UMass Amherst in Newton.

"The only (sport) I really tried before was power soccer, but once we heard about volt hockey, I enjoyed it a lot more than the power soccer," says Caeden.

Devin, 17, currently a senior at Tri-County studying graphic design, adds, "It's fun to be involved in a sport, because I never knew if I was going to be able to participate in sports. I like to be able to have nice teammates to hang out with."

Tournaments are few and literally, far between.

"Right now, there are only like three tournaments our team can compete in. Two of them are in Sweden; one is in Canada," explains Caeden, who hopes the sport will gain more momentum in the United States. Devin notes that there has been interest by folks in New Jersey, New York, Chicago and New Mexico. In 2024, the Hockomock YMCA in North Attleboro also created volt hockey team, The Rolling Warriors, thanks to a partnership between Hockomock Area YMCA, Space2Thrive and the generous sponsorship of Bill & Tina Belanger.

Volt hockey isn't cheap, however. All of the equipment is purchased through fundraising. In fact, the Boston Whiplash Volt Hockey team held its annual fundraiser at The Tall Ship in Boston last month.

"It's a fairly expensive sport to fund. The chairs they use are about $10K apiece, and gym rentals and insurance (cost money)," notes Mark.

If you would like to learn more about volt hockey, or to help support the sport, visit the U.S. Volt Hockey Association at www.volthockeyusa.org.