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Captain Meets Blea & Family; Auction Raises $10K in Support
January 19, 2010

Most Sharks fans walked away from Saturday's 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers pretty satisfied, but perhaps none was happier than Matt Blea and his family.

As many fans know, Blea, 16, is the San Jose High Academy running back who collapsed and nearly died after suffering a critical head injury during a game on Thanksgiving Day. The 5-foot-5 teenager had brain surgery that night, underwent a weeklong drug-induced coma and remained at Valley Medical Center until a few days before Christmas.

The Blea Family were guests of Sharks captain Rob Blake during the Jan. 16 game and beneficiaries of a special fundraising effort that evening. During the game Blake, with the help of the Sharks Foundation, hosted the annual Captain's Stick Auction, which raised over $10,000 for Blea's medical expenses. The auction was created several seasons ago by Sharks forward Patrick Marleau, with the intention of supporting someone in our community who is in critical need of immediate financial assistance.

"This kid and his family have been through so much and those medical bills are piling up," said Blake. "I'm honored to be in a position to help them and wish him a speedy recovery."

The auction included 19 used and autographed sticks, which Blake had personally collected from his teammates. Each stick was sold via blind bid format with all proceeds going directly to Blea and his family. The highest selling sticks of the night were those of Dany Heatley ($1,015) and Patrick Marleau ($1,012). The average price for a stick was $529.

After enjoying the game from goaltender Evgeni Nabokov's personal suite, the group was brought downstairs to meet Blake, take pictures and receive a tour of the locker room. No stranger to sports-related injuries, Blake sat with the youngster for some time,

discussing his rehab and plans for the future. Marleau, who just happens to be Blea's favorite player, and Heatley also stopped by to greet everyone.

"Our entire family would like to thank Rob Blake and the Sharks organization for all their support. We had a great time at the game," said Matt's father David Blea. "Matt said that it was an amazing experience to go to the locker room and meet some of the sharks and to see the facility. He felt like the luckiest kid that day!"

During a press conference on December 23, his doctors remarked at the speed at which he's been recovering but noted that there is still a long road ahead.

"He's absolutely somebody who's going to be able to go back to school and eventually get to a full school day, graduate and, hopefully, move on to higher education," said Dr. Lisa Lombard, who has been in charge of his rehabilitation at Valley Med. "Whether he's going to get exactly back to where he was before his injury, that's hard to say."

The San Jose Unified School District has established a bank account to help offset his medical expenses. Fans who were unable to participate in the auction may send donations to:

Matthew Blea

C/O San Jose High Academy

275 N. 24th Street

San Jose, CA 95116

FINAL AUCTION RESULTS