“Not everyone has those skills, but Kayden is really unique in that he does,” Hoff said. “He moves the puck so well so, consequently, the guys he plays with get lots of extra puck touches. We used him a lot with Declan last year, and he just loved playing with him because of the fact that he does get extra touches just because Kayden finds ways to get him the puck.”
Beasley’s skills were on display in the U.S.’s drive to the gold medal at the 2025 Para Hockey Cup in Dawson Creek, British Columbia from Nov. 30-Dec. 6.
He had seven points (two goals, five assists) in five games and finished the tournament second on the U.S. in points, tied for second in assists and fourth in goals.
Beasley called his performance a confidence builder heading into Milano Cortina.
“It definitely helps,” he said. “You know, in a game setting, it’s a bit different in practice, scoring goals. But there’s still a lot to work on between now and beyond.”
Beasley’s hockey journey began in China, where he was born as a congenital bilateral amputee with no legs and was abandoned by his birth parents. Anthony and Amy Beasley adopted Kayden on Christmas Day in 2009 when he was 3 years old and brought him to their hometown of 2,155 people about 30 miles south of Raleigh.
The Beasleys suspected that their new son was going to be an athlete because the staff at the orphanage in China had nicknamed him “Hercules.”
“He was very strong, and he looked like a little body builder at 3 years old,” Amy Beasley said. “I mean, he just was broad shouldered. He walked on his hands. He was very quick.”
Growing up, Beasley did what other kids and his older brother Caleb, who was adopted from the same Chinese province in 2006, did. He played street hockey, wearing prosthetics, and skateboarded. The family garage has marks from pucks fired at a net inside.
Beasley first learned about organized sled hockey during a doctor’s visit in 2019 when the physician asked him and mother if he ever tried sled hockey or adaptive sports.