Jack Jablonski Moves Arms; Benilde-St. Margaret's Teams Return to Ice

It's been an emotional rollercoaster for those involved in high school hockey after Jack Jablonski was paralyzed in a game -- but his teammates have now returned to the ice and his mother is sharing the news that her son is able to move his arms despite predictions of near-total paralysis.

On Friday, Leslie Jablonski announced what she calls a miracle before the teen's teammates took to the ice for the first time since the injury.

"He's a fighter," Leslie Jablonski said.

Jablonski left her son's hospital bedside to tell the Belinde-St. Margaret's hockey community that her son had a huge breakthrough on Saturday.

"Jack was able to move arms," she said. "That really isn't possible."

Doctors had previously predicted that Jablonski would not be able to move muscles below his triceps, but Leslie Jablonski said her son was able to lift one arm fully, and also had significant movement in the other.

The news came on the same day that Jablonski's teammates had their first game since the injury, and the team was led out onto the ice by his little brother, Max Jablonski, who was wearing his brother's No. 13.

The crowd roared as Max Jablonski was introduced as an honorary member of the Red Knights.

In the locker room, Junior Varsity Coach Chris McGowan encouraged the team to start the healing process by playing hard for Jabs.

"It still hurts to this minute. I can't get that vision out of my head -- know you can't either," said McGowan. "I don't know what's out in front of us. This is the first step of many."

McGowan told FOX 9 News he worked to reassure the players to make sure they were not afraid to play the game they love in the wake of the accidental check from behind that left Jablonski with two fractured vertebrae and a severed spine.

Leslie Jablonski told FOX 9 News she wanted to stress that she and her family hold no ill will toward the Wayzata players involved in the play that injured Jabs. In fact, she said Jablonski often lies in his hospital bed and worries about them and how they are coping with the accident.