In 2018, Adam and Jodi Brunjes came up with an interesting idea, bringing together military veterans, first responders, police officers, firefighters and a few emergency room doctors for a few friendly, yet competitive hockey games to relieve stress and raise money for local fundraisers.
What started out small in 2018 as the “Blue Warriors,” has morphed into the Brave Warriors Hockey Foundation, a nonprofit league in Colorado featuring 17 teams. Games serve as charitable events to support those who serve their communities and help save lives.
Adam Brunjes, president and CEO of the Brave Warriors Hockey Foundation, knows some of the challenges many of the league’s players deal with daily. Brunjes, a Fort Collins police officer, also serves as a school resource officer.
“This is just giving back to our other heroes, everyday heroes that sacrifice, put themselves on the line every day,” Adam Brunjes told the ABC affiliate in Denver.
When veterans and first responders heard about the league, they wanted to join the fun, and the league has expanded in the past eight years to include teams across Colorado.
“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.”
Support System on the Ice
Jodi Brunjes, the league’s chief operating officer, said the nonprofit’s goal since Day 1 has been to forge community spirit and show emergency personnel, law enforcement and veterans they have a place to go to for support.
“This foundation is going to support so many first responders and veterans and giving back to them and showing them how supported they are,” Brunjes said.
For a hockey family, the foundation is a labor of love relying on teamwork. Jodi serves as the behind-the-scenes point person, covering marketing and promotion, while also teaching part-time and helping raise their son, also a hockey player.
“I think it’s beautiful that we can do that together,” Jodi said. “Work side by side on something we love.”
In 2025, the foundation finally received non-profit status, which the Brunjeses said was crucial to keep pace with demand and make involvement more financially accessible to players. Since hockey is an expensive sport, the couple would like to lean on local fundraising to make participation free for veterans and first responders.
“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.
Healthy Place to Play
The league gives players a safe, healthy outlet to relieve stress, trauma and escape from the mental rigors of caring for others for a couple hours.
“They need time to decompress and to do something that they love,” Adam Brunjes said.
Timnath, Colorado police officer Andrew Flanagan, who has played in the league since its inception, said the foundation also offers a form of camaraderie they can’t find in other places.
“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.”
Veterans can certainly relate to that.
Navy veteran CJ Truelson is the director of fundraising for the Colorado Warriors, a nonprofit exclusive to veterans. Truelson said there’s not a big difference between what first responders and veterans experience.
“We both suffer from PTSD. We both suffer from trauma,” Truelson said. “This is about our mental health.”
For Truelson, hockey was his saving grace while he went through a painful divorce. Friends motivated him to lace up the skates and return to the ice where he discovered the support he needed.
“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 said playing for the Warriors goes behind teamwork, it’s about creating a bond forged in “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.”
Future Expansion Dreams
While the league will likely continue to grow, the Brunjeses said they’re committed to the mission, fostering a platform for first responders and veterans to feel supported and loved.
“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.”
On Feb. 28, the Brave Warriors Hockey Foundation will be part of the Colorado Avalanche Alumni Event where fans can watch some of their favorite Avs legends while also supporting a good cause.
“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.”
Read the full article here