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38 // NOV/DEC 2026 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM F or the first 10 years he was a member of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team, Jen Lee watched Steve Cash dominate in the net. As the team's backup goal- tender, Lee patiently waited for his time to become a starter. When that time came, he took full advantage. After Cash retired in 2021, Lee took over in net and dazzled. He helped Team USA cap- ture the gold medal in the 2022 Paralympic Games, not allowing a goal in his four starts. This past March, he helped the U.S. to its fifth-straight Paralympic gold. Now it's Lee's turn to step aside. Lee, who was born in Taipei, Taiwan, recently announced his retirement from the U.S. national team after 14 years. "It's something that I've been playing around, crossing my mind, and finally it was a good decision after Milan to call it quits," said Lee, who finished his career with nine gold medals — four at the Paralympics and five at the World Championships. During his illustrious career, Lee put up great numbers. In the 70 games he played between the pipes for the national team, Lee posted 27 shutouts. He finished with a career record of 50-2-0-3 (W-OTW-OTL-L). Lee surrendered just 43 goals, with a minuscule goals-against average of 0.73 and a save percentage of .899, making him the national team's all-time leader in both statistics among qualified goalies. All the records Lee set hold a special mean- ing to him. " When I started playing, I never really thought about stats like that. To go back and look at what kind of stats I'm holding, I'm surprising myself," Lee said. "It's just one of those that I've just been very fortunate. The coach gave me a chance to not only select me and be on the roster, but give me the chance to play and improve myself. I'm grateful for the coaching staff, for Dan [Brennan], the general manager, for sticking to his guns and believing in me as well all these years. I'm grateful for everything; as a kid you dream to be an athlete or try to be part of a team and part of something big. I'm able to do that, and a dream come true in a way." One big deciding factor for Lee to retire was having his first child, LeiAna, two and a half years ago. Leading up to the Milan- Cortina Paralympics this year, Lee had to dedicate so much time for preparation and travel, it limited his opportunity to see his young daughter. "I know it's been really good support from the fam to do what I've got to do, but then I figured it was time for me to at least be a little bit closer and spend more time with my daughter and then figure out where it goes from there," Lee said. "Having a daughter, hav- ing my family be a priority, that's really what makes me wake up every day." Lee served in the U.S. A r m y a s a n a i r c r a f t m e c h a n i c a n d w a s deployed to Iraq for a two-year tour in 2006. Two years later, Lee had his left leg amputated fol- PUCK Jen Lee Retires After Carrying On The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team's Tradition Of Strong Goaltending STOPPER By Greg Bates After spending a decade behind Steve Cash, Jen Lee got his opportunity in net and made the most of it, becoming one of the most accomplished goaltenders in U.S. sled hockey history. B ET W E E N T H E P I P ES DIGITAL BONUS CONTENT