Liam Hickey named to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador

ST. JOHN’S N.L. – Para ice hockey star Liam Hickey has been named among eight recipients of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador for 2024.

The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador is the province’s highest honour and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field of endeavour benefiting in an exemplary manner the province and its residents.

Hickey is one of the rare athletes to compete at both a summer and winter Paralympic Games. He made his Winter Games debut in 2018 helping Canada to the silver in Para ice hockey after first playing for Canada in wheelchair basketball at the Rio 2016 Games. 

He was named top defenceman at the 2019 and 2021 World Championships and led Team Canada in scoring at the most recent worlds with 17 points.

The investiture ceremony is set for October 30, 2024.

Other past Para athlete recipients include Joanne McDonald in 2008 and five-time Paralympian and Canada’s 2024 Paralympic Games co-flag bearer Katarina Roxon.

Canada’s Para ice hockey team wraps up evaluation camp

Hickey’s announcement to the Order was officially announced while he was on the ice at Team Canada’s evaluation which concludes Wednesday (October 2) at the Woolwich Memorial Centre in Elmira, Ont.

The team is also looking to select a squad which will head overseas for the first tournament of the season at the International Para Hockey Cup in Ostrava, Czechia October 7-13.

Thirty-two players attended the camp (five goaltenders, 11 defence and 16 forwards) as the coaching staff, led by head coach Russ Herrington and including five-time Paralympian Greg Westlake as an assistant coach, evaluated the potential best combinations for Canada to successfully defend its world title next spring.

The Canadians reclaimed the crown for the first time since 2017 in a thrilling 2-1 victory over the USA in the final in Calgary this past May.

Sixteen players from that triumph are at the Calgary camp including goaltender Adam Kingsmill of Smithers, B.C., the gold medal game MVP, the world tournament’s top forward Dominic Cozzolino of Mississauga, Ont., captain Tyler McGregor of Forest, Ont., and Rob Armstrong of Erin, Ont.

But there’s also plenty of youth at the camp looking to put the heat on the veterans. They include 16-year-olds Jisheng Boutilier of Pine Grove, N.S. and Jonathan Daigle of Boucherville, Que., and 17-year-olds Matteo Pellizzari of Vancouver and Gavin Baggs of Paradise, N.L.

In all, seven players are under the age of 20. Also at the camp is women’s sport trailblazer Raphaelle Tousignant of Terrebonne, Que., a member of the 2023 World Championship squad.

At the tournament in Ostrava, Canada opens the four-country tournament October 7 against Italy, faces the Americans the next day and concludes the preliminary round October 10 versus the hosts. The semifinals are October 12, and the medal matches October 13.

Team Canada Evaluation Camp Roster