HELENA — Nick Battaglia’s eyes light up scrolling the archives of his Instagram, pausing on a photo dated Oct. 6, 2016. Then he chuckles.

He sees himself dressed in a hotdog costume at a Helena Capital volleyball match next to fellow Helena Bighorns rookie Brendan Bessee. Born on opposite ends of the country, they met playing junior hockey in Helena and eventually each became heroes in their hometown communities.

“He’s with me everywhere,” Battaglia said. “He was a lot of fun. He’s one of the guys I saw several times, even though we lived far away, after I stopped playing [hockey].

“He was a very, very, very dear friend to me. He was a really good dude. We went down the same path and unfortunately he had an accident. That was a fun night, though.”

Bessee, an Arizona firefighter, passed away in the line of duty two years ago.

Battaglia, whose firefighting career began with a trip from Helena back home to New York in his second Bighorns season, is rapidly approaching Year 5 as a member of the FDNY.

“It’s almost like playing hockey,” Battaglia said. “You’re in a firehouse, that’s very close to being in a locker room with a bunch of guys...

New York City firefighter Nick Battaglia was honored on June 5 with the Firefighter David J. DeFranco Medal for performing a water-related rescue in July of 2023. Battaglia is pictured front row, center, with a red ribbon around his neck.

“You have to work together in high-stress situations. It was an environment I thought I had a chance to thrive in, as opposed to an office environment.”

Battaglia watched his older brother play Division I baseball at Wagner College. As the younger brother by six years, basketball and baseball ruled his life until middle school when days of playing rollerblade hockey with the older kids on Staten Island streets took over.

“You've got to move the net for cars, a lot,” Battaglia said, smiling. “You just hope you don’t break something.

“If they were playing street hockey and I wanted to play, guess who had to play goalie? That was the only way I was playing.”

Junior hockey became Battaglia’s lifeline to chase his dream of playing collegiately.

At 17 years old he moved to Helena after emailing a highlight tape to dozens of NA3HL teams across the country. His delivery job at Jimmy John’s kept gas in the tank, as did all the half-price sandwiches he could eat before Bighorns practice.

Helena Bighorns goaltender Nick Battaglia gets just enough on the blocker to deflect a shot by Yellowstone in March of 2018.

He met his now-fiancée Abbie in Helena, a relationship that withstood a long-distance phase as each pursued goals in different states.

“Everyone has that ‘coming of age’ time in their life,” Battaglia said. “This was the first time I wasn’t living with my parents. The two years I spent [in Montana], I really grew a lot as a person…

“Far away from home, no one is coming to help you, and you've got to work hard every day at practice to try to keep your head above water.”

Battaglia’s father was NYPD, retiring as a detective more than a decade ago. He was scheduled to be off on 9/11, something Battaglia is thankful for every day.

Admittingly, Battaglia didn’t know much about the FDNY when he flew home from Montana to take the fire exam, the very first step toward Fire Cadet Academy, but with the test’s frequency limited, Battaglia decided to take a chance.

Former Helena Bighorns goalie Nick Battaglia is a New York City firefighter with Ladder Company 169 in Brooklyn. The past three years, he's also been the FDNY hockey team's starting goalie. In 2022, Battaglia earned his team's MVP award during the annual FDNY vs. NYPD Charity Hockey Game. This spring, Battaglia participated in the 50th annual rivalry game, earning a 6-5 victory. 

“That trip ended up changing the whole course of my life,” he said.

Battaglia left Helena at 19 years old, played one more season of junior hockey, and instead of continuing his career at an NCAA Division III program, began the 18-week fire academy.

On November 12, 2019, mere months after his 21st birthday, Battaglia was appointed as an FDNY firefighter, inheriting what he calls a “second family” in a firehouse of 40 or 50 people.

Assigned to Brooklyn’s Ladder Company 169, Battaglia quickly shed any fear of heights, routinely climbing several stories to fight fires and do his job.

On July 10, 2023, around midnight, Battaglia and his truck were called to Manhattan Beach for a person in the water. He and a fellow firefighter hopped a fence, and with life preserver on and torpedo in hand, Battaglia jumped in the dark waters to rescue the incoherent woman.

Fifty feet in, Battaglia disconnected a safety tether that became tangled in man-made obstacles, and continued swimming. Due to the woman's condition, Battaglia was forced to pull himself and the victim through the water toward a waiting fire boat, effectively saving her life.

For his actions, Battaglia was awarded the Firefighter David J. DeFranco Medal (awarded for water-related rescue) for his “true act of bravery.”

“It’s the same as playing hockey,” Battaglia said. “You’re in the moment, you’ve got the adrenaline running. You revert back to your training and you let it take over…

“I think everybody I work with and everybody I know in the fire department would’ve done the exact same thing.”

Hockey players are unable to keep their careers secret long in the FDNY, and Battaglia was quickly sought for his goalie skills.

The FDNY hockey team plays roughly 40 games per season, but the biggest, by far, is their charity game against the NYPD every spring.

Former Helena Bighorns goalie Nick Battaglia is a New York City firefighter with Ladder Company 169 in Brooklyn. The past three years, he's also been the FDNY hockey team's starting goalie. In 2022, Battaglia earned his team's MVP award during the annual FDNY vs. NYPD Charity Hockey Game. This spring, Battaglia participated in the 50th annual rivalry game, earning a 6-5 victory.

“We’re able to play Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, to us, every year against the cops,” Battaglia said.

“Sold out arena. We work all year to play that game. The reason why we play is for charity.”

Battaglia was FDNY’s back-up goalie in 2021, a game played in September (postponed by COVID) that commemorated the 20th anniversary of 9/11. A year later, Battaglia started between the pipes inside the New York Islanders’ UBS Arena, earning his team’s MVP Award before a crowd of nearly 20,000.

This April, Battaglia participated in the 50th annual FDNY vs. NYPD Charity Hockey Game, a 6-5 victory for the firemen, maintaining Battaglia undefeated record against the cops.

Not a bad substitute for missing out on collegiate hockey. 

“I don’t plan on [losing],” Battaglia said. “I’m going to try to make that never happen.

“I lose sleep over that game every year. That game feels like the biggest day of my life, and it happens every year.”

Battaglia turns 26 years old later this month, but he’s already lived like a real-life superhero.

Helena is filled with memories for Battaglia, who returned this month to attend a friend’s wedding and propose to his longtime girlfriend. He skated with the Bighorns, marveling at their new video board and Fraser Cup banner, and was relieved when people told him Shellies Country Cafe had moved locations, not closed.

Battaglia discovered one of his best friends in Montana, an unlikely meeting ground for kids from New York and Arizona. His hockey sticks now carry Bessee’s initials and Battaglia’s fire helmet is lined with his buddy’s prayer card.

Former Helena Bighorns goalie Nick Battaglia is a New York City firefighter with Ladder Company 169 in Brooklyn. The past three years, he's also been the FDNY hockey team's starting goalie. In 2022, Battaglia earned his team's MVP award during the annual FDNY vs. NYPD Charity Hockey Game. This spring, Battaglia participated in the 50th annual rivalry game, earning a 6-5 victory. 

Battaglia credits Helena for turning him into the man he is everyday.

“I was getting nostalgic on the ice,” Battaglia said. “It was amazing that your job was, basically, to play hockey.

“To do that here is an experience I’ll never forget.”