Latest news with #MacInnis
Edmonton Journal
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Former Maple Leaf Gary Leeman looks back on the shot that changed his life
The shot you don't see coming can leave the biggest scar. Article content So when Gary Leeman came around after an Al MacInnis slap shot struck just behind his ear, looking up at worried Maple Leaf teammates, on-ice officials and doctors, his first semi-conscious flash was to fear the worst. Article content 'I'd hit the ice, believing 'This is it, I'm gonna die,' ' Leeman recounted that night of Oct. 16, 1988. 'Those around me said I was making horrifying noises. I was down awhile, struggling to get my bearings. It got pretty traumatic. I knew right then the puck likely cracked my skull.' Article content Article content He was correct in diagnosing the injury, but fortunately wrong about its finality or it being career-ending. Leeman went on to score 51 goals the next year and eventually win a Stanley Cup with Montreal. But the next six and a half years turned the young winger from East End Toronto into a different person. A young man's joy of playing his chosen sport for good money and hometown adulation was re-routed to a difficult dual path of body recovery and mental regression. Article content Today, a similarly stricken player would take a precautionary hiatus, maybe injured reserve or LTIR. Leeman was asked if he wanted to play the very next game, blindly adhering to hockey's oldest code of playing through pain, keeping your job and damn the consequences. The price would be enormous in his active days and in retirement would lead him to fight on behalf of other National Hockey Leaguers vexed by head injuries. Article content 'Getting hit by that puck changed my life,' the 61-year-old told Postmedia over the lunch table. Article content Let's first rewind to when almost every NHLer feared being in the firing line of MacInnis, long before there was a hardest shot competition at the all-star game. With a release perfected against the side of his family barn in Cape Breton, N.S., his was clocked at 100-plus miles per hour. He'd infamously split goalie Mike Liut's mask on one blast and kept maintenance men in every rink on high alert to replace shattered Plexiglass. Article content MacInnis once broke a piece of the back board in St. Louis, too. Article content Article content Article content 'The Flames could really move the puck and I was out covering the left point, trying to stay in front of his shot,' Leeman related. 'But MacInnis moved closer to centre and my head turned toward our net. I heard his release, but the shot was deflected (by teammate Al Iafrate). I felt a clunk on the left side of my head, with intense pain and instant ringing in my ear. Like someone had snuck up behind with a baseball bat and whacked you. Article content 'As I lay there, it didn't help me knowing MacInnis had shot it. Your only thought at the time was survival. I do recall saying to myself, if you (pass out), you're not going to wake up.' It was that serious.' Article content Toronto's trainer, Guy Kinnear, quickly attended Leeman, but under frugal owner Harold Ballard, the Leafs didn't employ a year-round athletic therapist. And this was definitely not a shot block Leeman could simply skate off.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
N.B. athletes show up in record numbers for Olympic talent scouts
A record number of young athletes from across New Brunswick gravitated to Saint John this weekend, all searching for opportunity. Enticed by the prospect of being recognized as a potential Olympian, 135 athletes – 71 male and 64 female competitors – from Saint Quentin to St. Stephen, descended on the Irving Oil Field House on Sunday to participate in the RBC Training Ground program. The athletes, aged 14 to 25, were weighed, measured, and tested for speed, strength, jumping power, and endurance. More than 20 volunteers and RBC staff dutifully recorded their scores and prepared them for comparison against national benchmarks for each age and gender. Ever present were the watchful eyes of 15 Winter and Summer Olympic sports organizations looking for new talent. 'It's all about hope and potential, and to me, the biggest identifier is the kids showing up,' said Evan MacInnis, national technical director for the RBC Training Ground program. 'You might not get the best score today, but you may have a conversation about playing a sport you hadn't thought of like flag football or rugby. We have coaches here from all those sports so the kids can talk with them and maybe give it a go,' said MacInnis, adding that the number of athletes in Saint John more than doubled the estimated 60 who attended a similar event in Fredericton in 2019. The Saint John turnout was also above the 2025 national average of 110 athletes per RBC event. Ava Reid, a triple sports threat from Oromocto, said she viewed the training ground as a 'no stress'' experience. 'I think it would be cool having come here and them saying we believe you are capable and then getting the chance to compete in another sport that I might never thought I could do,' said the 17-year-old Reid, who plays softball, volleyball and basketball. This is the seventh time a training ground event has been held in New Brunswick: once in Moncton, twice in Saint John, and four times in Fredericton. The top 100 athletes from 20 qualifiers across Canada will advance to the national final. Up to 35 athletes will be selected to join the program and become eligible for RBC bursaries to offset expenses associated with training and competing. 'Many athletes don't start with an Olympic sport, but they get recognized and then train, so we'll see,' said 17-year-old Audree LeBlanc of Dieppe. 'I'm just excited to see my potential.' Looking at a swath of blue RBC T-shirts adorning athletes on the field house turf, two-time Olympian and defending world indoor shot put champion Sarah Mitton sees plenty of potential. The Liverpool, N.S., native, now an RBC Training Ground ambassador, understands what potential looks like, having 'found' her Olympic sport in Grade 8. 'This program has so many national sports organizations involved and such a strong history of taking someone really fast and athletic, who maybe played soccer and basketball, and putting them in rowing or cycling, something they are so suited for but never had the opportunity to try,' said Mitton, who in 2024 became the first Canadian women in 60 years to make the Olympic shot put final. 'All of a sudden, their athletic ability shines, and the chance to excel at a sport you never dreamed of changes your career trajectory.' Shea Hickey had the trajectory of her rugby career take a turn in 2022 when she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. The former Acadia University varsity player saw the RBC event as an opportunity to return to sports. 'I'm an athletic person, and I just want to see what my body can do. I'm finally at the end of my recovery from this injury, and I wanted to test myself. 'I'm pleased that I did this,' the 22-year-old Saint John native said, sweat dripping from her brow following her endurance test. Since its inception in 2016, the RBC Training Ground program has helped 21 athletes earn a spot on Team Canada and win 14 Olympic medals. Sixteen training ground alumni were part of Canada's team at the 2024 Summer Olympics, winning seven medals, one gold and six silver. Training ground alumnus Jerome Blake was a member of the 2024 men's relay team, capturing gold in the 4×100 metre final at the Paris Games.
CBC
30-01-2025
- General
- CBC
Higher demand for accommodations not surprising, say P.E.I. post-secondary institutions
Post-secondary staff on Prince Edward Island say they aren't surprised that over a third of Maritime university students report having a disability. The number of students with disabilities could even be higher than the reported number, since some students with disabilities aren't registered to receive accommodations, said Sandra Griffin, manager of accessibility services at UPEI. "Without these accommodations, students will often struggle, experience lower grades, sometimes fail courses entirely because they haven't used the accommodations that they're eligible for or that they need in order to demonstrate their learning," Griffin said. The number of university students who report having a disability has grown across the country, with Maritime institutions leading the way, according to the Canadian University Survey Consortium. Why the increase? The increase in the number of students reporting disabilities and seeking accommodations has likely gone up for a variety of reasons, Griffin said. For one, there's less stigma around accessing accommodations, Griffin said, adding support and information from professors and classmates can make students feel more comfortable asking for help. The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is another factor that may be contributing to the increase in accommodation requests, she said. Murray MacInnis, director of student well being, accessibility and supports at Holland College, agrees that there are many factors influencing the increase in demand for student accommodations. MacInnis said there's a distinction between students who are accessing services and those that have individualized academic accommodation plans, but in both cases, the number of students using those supports are increasing. "They're more willing to ask for that help now and advocate for themselves in many cases," he said. Improvements made to accommodation supports at the high school level also means that more students have prior experience accessing accommodations and often times have diagnoses and documentation by the time they enter post-secondary learning environments, MacInnis said. Identifying needs early Holland College has connections with P.E.I. high schools that allow the college to better understand the needs of incoming students before they arrive and being able to identify those needs early is a benefit, he said. "I don't always see the increase in needs as a bad thing. It may be just that we're getting to students before it's too late and we're trying to support them along their journey," MacInnis said. "The numbers alone can paint a picture but it doesn't tell the whole story." When it comes to the learning environment, "our classes are more diverse than ever in terms of learning needs," MacInnis said. While that can present challenges, it also creates great opportunities, he said. "There's a lot of learning that happens from having diversity within the classroom and it can lead to a better society in general." Although it's good more students feel comfortable accessing support, increased demand for accommodations means there is more strain on post-secondary staff, faculty and resources, said Margot Rejskind, executive director of the UPEI Faculty Association. "As the numbers go up, the… amount of time and resources that are required go up as well, and may not be keeping up with what is happening on the ground." Ensuring that students have the support they need while also leaving time for faculty and staff to address other concerns that would be of benefit to students is a "difficult balance," said Rejskind.
