Tyler McGregor is Canada’s latest leadership champion in hockey world
Impacts on and off the ice
CHARLOTTETOWN – When Hockey Canada recently announced the members of its new National Team Athlete Committee it was no surprise to see Tyler McGregor’s name on that elite list.
McGregor, who captained Canada to its first world Para ice hockey title in seven years last spring in Calgary, has emerged as a leader not only on his team but as an advocate for Para sport, people with a disability, and cancer research.
‘’What I try to do is just lead by example in everything I do,’’ said McGregor, 29, in an interview with CPC at the Para Hockey Cup in Charlottetown last month.
‘’One of the biggest things that drives me within and outside of sport is just being able to have an impact on the world, whether that’s on an individual, a community, or an organization.’’
‘’That’s a very clear purpose in my life.’’
McGregor, an OHL prospect as a junior player, lost a leg due to cancer at age 15. After a stint in standup hockey for amputees the Forest, Ont., resident joined Para ice hockey family a year later.
Assistant coach Greg Westlake, a six-time Paralympian, says his former teammate’s enthusiasm and work ethic is infectious to the rest of the program.
‘’I remember when he came into the sport and then you look at him now and you see the growth and development and just the type of man he has become,’’ said Westlake.
‘’He’s always been a great guy and player, but to see the steps he’s taken in his speaking abilities and the way he’s able to articulate himself now.’’
Current teammate Vincent Boily, vying for a spot on his first Paralympic Games team in 2026, has a similar background story to McGregor’s. He was also a top-ranked junior player before being injured in a snowmobile accident in December 2017.
McGregor took Boily under his wing right away.
‘’He really is a great example for me with everything he’s done for the community,’’ said Boily, whose emerged as one of Canada’s top scoring threats the past two seasons.
‘’On the ice, he combines the physical game along with finesse. It’s a style that is really effective and he’s among the best in the world at it.”
Off the competition rink, McGregor is a member of the Canadian Paralympic Athletes’ Council, he is co-chair of the Own the Podium Athlete Advisory Committee, a board member for Make-a-Wish Canada, and has been a keynote speaker for 14 years inspiring countless members of communities across the national landscape.
Paul Rosen, the goaltender on Canada’s 2006 Paralympic champion team, says he met McGregor in 2011 after his amputation and put him in touch with Westlake.
“Tyler has shown everybody that anything is possible if you put your mind to it’’ said Rosen, now the TSN analyst for its Para hockey broadcasts. ‘’He turns an obstacle into an opportunity.’’
In 2023, he earned national headlines for his Terry Fox-inspired cross-country Sledge Skate of Hope which raised $100,000 for cancer research. He skated 420 kilometres on ice trails from Invermere, B.C. to Charlottetown.
‘’What I’m most passionate about is trying to push the envelope in terms of what’s possible for people within Paralympic sport.
“So far, it’s been a great journey.’’
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