The Template “Like every kid on the ice with his under-18 team, Jack Hughes has never known hockey without Sidney Crosby. They were lacing on skates for the first time when Sidney Crosby was in Rimouski. They were in junior kindergarten when he was in his rookie season in Pittsburgh, in Grade 3 when he hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time. More than they can know, they’re playing a game that Sidney Crosby created or, at least, remade.” Gare Joyce – Sportsnet – November 2019
Nice Guy Finishes First “Apparently, Masai Ujiri likes torturing himself. At the moment, it’s not clear why. We’re in Studio K-O, a box-fit training facility on King Street west of Bathurst. Not 20 minutes ago, having just landed on a delayed flight from Chicago, Ujiri drove up in a black Chevy Suburban. In the change room he donned shorts and zipped a camo-patterned nylon hoodie to his neck. Now, his hands encased in 12-ounce boxing gloves, his playlist of Nigerian Afrobeat music throbbing around him, Ujiri pounds the thick mitts his trainer wears on her hands as she moves around the room calling out punch combinations. He repeats each combo 15 or 20 times for 30 minutes, giving it everything he has, while his trainer introduces footwork and body movement to mimic a fight. Halfway through, he’s hanging off a heavy bag like a man clinging to life itself.” Trevor Cole – Toronto Life – November 2019
Death at Howse Peak: How three climbers perished on an Alberta mountain “Although Howse Peak is little known beyond the climbing world, adventurers regard it as one of Canada’s most inhospitable and unassailable mountains. It looks unapproachable from the Icefields Parkway, like a quilt nature patched together from diabolical elements. It has a sheer, 1,300-metre-tall striated grey wall, and unsteady rocks as sharp as razor blades. In winter, there is deep snow and a glacier to traverse. Hundreds of cornices hang from ledges all over its upper reaches. Shards of ice cling to cliffs. Along its sides, skinny remnants of avalanches look like fingers that clawed their way down.” Marty Klinkenberg – The Globe and Mail – November 2019
First of her kind “That Huitema is so comfortable is especially great to see given she faces the most daunting task in Canadian soccer history: Following in Sinclair’s incredible footsteps. The 18-year-old happens to play the same position as her favourite player — they’re both B.C. born strikers with a penchant for goal-scoring. But once Sinclair calls it a career, how can Huitema hope to follow the greatest ever for Canada? The five-foot-11 product of Chilliwack has it figured out. She’s going her own way and blazing a new trail for soccer players in this country.” Kristina Rutherford – Sportsnet – August 2019
Behind the scenes of the NBA 2K League, where Toronto chases more hoops glory “At the 2K League’s inaugural draft in 2018, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters at Madison Square Garden that his league was about to welcome “a new generation of athletes” – more than a hundred video gamers who play a variation of basketball at an elite level, and who therefore would be considered members of the NBA in their own right.” Nick Faris – theScore – July 2019
The Hustler “One game is every game for Brendan Gallagher. It’s almost as if the Montreal Canadiens right winger skates in front of a green screen, performing the same actions over and over while the images change behind him. It doesn’t matter whether he’s playing in Boston, home of a blood rival, or in California on a once-a-year trip. Or if it’s in front of empty seats in Arizona or at home in the ever-humming Bell Centre. To No. 11, every sheet of ice is the same and the job he has to do doesn’t change.” Ryan Dixon – Sportsnet – December 2018
A Better Mirror “For the people behind Hockey Night Punjabi, this set, and the studio it sits within, are more than just an address stamped on a business card. This is the final, shining stop on a circuitous path that has run from Toronto to Calgary to Vancouver, with all manner of unexpected turns and detours along the way. It is the tangible proof that after fighting for a voice and devoting years to reinventing and refining it with eyes on bringing about positive change for their community, Hockey Night Punjabi has found itself. Now, bent to a shared purpose in front of that iconic logo, they look perfectly calm and right at home. But their work is still far from done.” Sonny Sachdeva – Sportsnet – November 2018
