COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — During a special hockey scrimmage on the ice at Ed Robson Arena, skates were cutting hard turns, sticks were snapping passes and teammates were calling out plays. But the players wearing the jerseys aren’t just athletes.
They’re police officers, military veterans, firefighters, EMS workers and even emergency room doctors, all brought together through the Brave Warriors Hockey Foundation, a Colorado nonprofit built to support the people who spend their careers serving everyone else.
“This is just giving back to our other heroes, everyday heroes that sacrifice, put themselves on the line every day,” said Adam Brunjes, a Fort Collins police officer and school resource officer, who also serves as president and CEO of the foundation.
Brunjes and his wife, Jodi, started this project in 2018 as a few one-off fundraising games. He watched it grow quickly into a full league. What began as the “Blue Warriors” has expanded into 17 teams with veterans and first responders from across the state.
“We grew so fast that we decided that we wanted to start a season, so we got more teams involved,” Adam Brunjes said. “We started with eight, we are now up to 17 teams.”
Jodi Brunjes, the foundation’s chief operating officer, said the mission has always been about building community and showing first responders and veterans they’re not alone.
“This foundation is going to support so many first responders and veterans and giving back to them and showing them how supported they are,” she said.
The couple’s hockey roots run deep, and their work has become a family effort. Jodi handles much of the behind-the-scenes organizing, marketing and promotion, often balancing it with substitute teaching and parenting their son, who also plays hockey.
“I think it’s beautiful that we can do that together,” Jodi said. “Work side by side on something we love.”
Last year, the Brave Warriors Hockey Foundation became an official nonprofit, a move the Brunjes’ said was necessary to keep up with demand and eventually remove financial barriers for players. The goal is to raise enough community support to make participation free for first responders and veterans.
“We decided to become a foundation, a nonprofit, so we can raise money and to give back to the players, to their families, to veterans in need,” Adam Brunjes said.
For many players, the league is more than a fun way to compete — it’s an outlet for stress, trauma and the mental toll that can come with service.
“They need time to decompress and to do something that they love,” Adam Brunjes said.
Andrew Flanagan, a Timnath police officer who has been part of Brave Warriors since the beginning, said the league creates space for connection, the kind that can be hard to find outside the job.
“If we have stuff going on personally, I know some of my teammates, I can talk to them about stuff,” Flanagan said. “It’s all the shared experiences from all the stuff that we kind of deal with in our careers.”
That shared understanding extends to veterans, too.
CJ Truelson, a retired U.S. Navy veteran and director of fundraising for the Colorado Warriors — an all-veteran nonprofit — said he sees a clear overlap between what service members and first responders carry with them.
“There’s not a big difference between first responders and military personnel or veterans,” Truelson said. “We both suffer from PTSD. We both suffer from trauma. This is about our mental health.”
Truelson said hockey helped pull him through one of the darkest periods of his life. After a difficult divorce, he said friends encouraged him to get back on the ice, and the support he found there made a difference.
“They definitely reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, just come out here and skate,’” Truelson said. “This is my peace on the ice.”
Truelson described it as more than a team, but a bond built through competition, trust and familiarity.
“It’s about a brotherhood and sisterhood on the ice,” Truelson said.
“We might wear different jerseys or different sweaters when we hit the ice,” Adam Brunjes said, “but we’re all on the same team.”
That team mentality built on service, sacrifice and support is what led Denver7 and Levine Law to recognize Adam and Jodi Brunjes as Everyday Heroes. Even as the league grows, Adam and Jodi said the mission hasn’t changed. They will continue to build something that helps people feel seen and supported, even if it’s only for the length of one hockey game.
“I always like to dream big,” Adam Brunjes said. “I would love to make this a national thing, where we have different chapters in different states, and we can’t do that without the support of our local communities.”
The Brave Warriors Hockey Foundation’s next big event is the foundation’s second annual Colorado Avalanche Alumni Event on February 28 at 4 p.m. at Ball Arena. The ticketed event celebrates hockey, community and the men and women who serve, with appearances by Avs alumni including John-Michael Liles, Mark Rycroft and Darren Helm. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased on the Brave Warriors Hockey Foundation website. Each ticket includes admission to the Avalanche-Blackhawks game following the alumni event.
“If you love hockey, if you support first responders and veterans, just come to an event and watch a game, you will be so surprised,” Jodi Brunjes said. “You get the little warm fuzzies when you watch them on the ice, and you see them play together. It's amazing.”
Denver7 features a different Everyday Hero each week. To nominate a hero in your life, click here.