Months of planning, hours of action: Organizers welcome week 2 athletes to the Canada Games
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National Post
35 minutes ago
- National Post
Canucks: Hockey world mourns death of Mark Kirton after long battle with ALS
Darcy Rota's scouting report on his former Vancouver Canucks teammate Mark Kirton includes 'very special person,' along with 'very special team guy.' Article content Kirton played six seasons in the NHL, including parts of three seasons with the Canucks. He had 17 goals for Vancouver in 1984-85. He was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) — otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease — in 2018, and became a champion to raise money for research to help find a cure. He was a board member of ALS Action Canada. Article content Article content Article content 'He was really solid defensively. He could chip in offensively. More than anything, he was a great teammate,' said Rota, 72, whose five-year run with the Canucks ended with the 1983-84 season. 'He was very much one-for-all, all-for one. Article content 'I've got a chance to do a few things for ALS out here and I'm especially happy for that because of the connection with him. Great personality, great teammate. He was always fun to be around. Such a dry sense of humour.' Article content Postmedia's Ben Kuzma did a feature piece on Kirton in June 2022 where Kirton talked about his trip to Vancouver the preceding April to see a pair of games. He had strong ties to the organization. President Jim Rutherford and Kirton were traded for one another in a Dec. 4, 1980 swap between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, and were teammates for a time when Rutherford found his way back to Detroit in 1982-83. Article content Article content Bruce Boudreau was Vancouver's coach at the time, and he and Kirton had been teammates in the Toronto organization. Article content Article content Boudreau told Kuzma then: 'He's still the strongest and bravest man I've ever met. He'll phone me when I'm down. And I'll just sit there and go: 'Kirts, you've got this problem and you're phoning me to lift me up?' He wanted to come here and support us, and even though he has ALS and has lost a lot of his movements, he's so upbeat and positive. You can't help but get excited when you see him. He was the hardest-working guy on the ice and hardest working doing this (ALS advocacy).' Article content Article content Kirton came to the Canucks as they were looking to rebuild the team after its 1982 Stanley Cup Finals run. He was acquired from the Red Wings on Jan. 17, 1983, in exchange for centre Ivan Boldirev.
CTV News
35 minutes ago
- CTV News
Player revokes commitment to Kitchener Rangers, plans to attend American university instead
Adam Valentini signs on with the Kitchener Rangers on May 5, 2025. With only a week left until the Kitchener Rangers are set to start their training camp, one player has announced they will no longer be on the roster. In a social media post, the team said Adam Valentini has decided to revoke his commitment to play for the Kitchener Rangers in the upcoming season. Instead, he will be heading to the University of Michigan. 'Obviously, finding out one week before the beginning of our training camp that a signed player will not honour his commitment is not an ideal circumstance,' the social media post said. 'But we are excited and focused on the upcoming season with the great group of players we have reporting to camp next week.' On June 5, the team announced Valentini had committed to an OHL Scholarship and development agreement. He previously played in the United States Hockey League. The team had acquired the rights to Adam Valentini in a trade with the Brampton Steelheads in 2024. He had been Brampton's first-round pick, ranked 13th overall, in 2024 OHL Priority Selection. Because of Valentini's decision, Kitchener will no longer have to surrender a trio of 2028 draft picks to the Steelheads. Valentini was also recently part of the bronze medal winning Hlinka Gretzky Cup team.
CBC
36 minutes ago
- CBC
Ottawa's Michael Woods announces retirement from cycling
Social Sharing Ottawa's Michael Woods, the first athlete to both run a sub-four-minute mile and complete the Tour de France, announced he's retiring from professional cycling at the end of the season. The 38-year-old made the announcement in a blog post Monday. In it, Woods detailed the "significant" toll 11 years of professional cycling has taken on his health and family life, citing those as his reasons for calling it a career. "The time I have spent away from my family has been long," he wrote. In his post, Woods describes how he was unable to kiss his kids when he picked them up from school to avoid getting sick before a race. "Every aspect of my life has been examined and studied to maximize my ability to ride a bike. That all-encompassing pursuit I have loved and have no regrets doing, but it is something that can only be sustained for so long," he wrote. "For the reasons mentioned above, I have made the decision to retire from professional road cycling at the end of this season." Woods began cycling professionally with Team Garneau-Quebecor in 2013 after a foot injury put an end to his track and field career. He has ridden with the Israel-Premier Tech team for the past five seasons. He won a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships, and competed in the Olympics in 2016, 2021 and 2024. WATCH | Michael Woods talks pivoting to cycling from track and field: Cycling success story 10 years ago Ottawa's Mike Woods started cycling after injuries put an end to his track and field career — and now he's making waves on the elite cycling circuit. As he bids farewell to professional cycling, Woods thanked his family, his coach of 12 years Paulo Saldanha, his teammates and others. "I was able to realize that goal. I managed to become one of the best cyclists in the world, and it is a journey I am damn proud of," he wrote.
