Athletes of Note – Hockey

Trevor Buchanan 10th round of the 1989 NHL draft

13 years of semi-pro hockey

Entering 4th year of semi-pro hockey coaching

CHL 4th in games played, 20th scoring, 11th goals, 5th penalty minutes

Selected by Hartford Whalers round 10 #199 overall 1989 NHL Entry Draft









Suzette Gillingham Canada Winter Games member

Olympic tryout

Member of Edmonton Chimos







Dan Hodgson Gold medal championship with Canada’s National Junior Team

Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year



Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks



10+ years in European League



Dan Hodgson was a slick offensive centre who played parts of four NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks in the late 80s. He was best known as a top amateur prospect in Canada and a scoring star in the domestic leagues of Germany and Switzerland.

Dan Hodgson was a slick offensive centre who played parts of four NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks in the late 80s. He was best known as a top amateur prospect in Canada and a scoring star in the domestic leagues of Germany and Switzerland.

Born in Fort Vermillion, Alberta, Hodgson starred in the BCJHL with the Coquitlam Panthers and Cowichan Valley Capitals. In 1982-83 he scored 56 goals for the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders then was drafted 85th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He returned for two more junior seasons and led the league in assists both years. Hodson also played for Canada at the World Junior Championships in 1984 and 1985, winning gold at the latter tournament. He also led the Raiders to the 1985 Memorial Cup, was named MVP of the tournament, placed on the WHL east first all-star team, and named the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year.

Hodgson showed flashes of excitement for Toronto with 13 goals in 40 games as an NHL rookie in 1985-86. Before the end of the season, he was dispatched to the AHL’s St. Catharines Saints and participated in the Calder Cup playoffs. He started the next season in the minors then received a new lease on life when he was sent to the Vancouver Canucks with Jim Benning for Rick Lanz.

Hodgson was a decent role player for parts of three seasons on the west coast but was unable to produce points consistently. After averaging nearly two points per game for the Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL in 1988-89, the talented forward signed with HC Fribourg-Gotteron of the Swiss League. He later spent two years in Munich,Germany then played several seasons with Swiss clubs SC Langnau, Davos and Zurich before retiring in 2001.





Chris Phillips WHL Rookie of the Year

First pick in the 1996 NHL Draft

Two Gold Medal Championships with Canadian Junior National Team

Member of Ottawa Senators NHL…10th year

As a junior defenceman with Prince Albert and Lethbridge of the WHL, Chris Phillips was a big, strapping blueliner. He was voted the WHL’s Rookie of the Year in 1995-96 and he finished the following season as a member of the Memorial Cup All-Star Team, despite his club’s loss to the Hull Olympiques in the finals. As a junior defenceman with Prince Albert and Lethbridge of the WHL, Chris Phillips was a big, strapping blueliner. He was voted the WHL’s Rookie of the Year in 1995-96 and he finished the following season as a member of the Memorial Cup All-Star Team, despite his club’s loss to the Hull Olympiques in the finals.

A two-time gold medal winner with Canada’s World Junior team, Phillips was selected first overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Upon completion of his two-year junior career, he went straight to work for his new NHL employer in the nation’s capital. In a Senator’s sweater, Phillips didn’t leap out of the starting gate as a blueline stallion. Instead, he brought his assets to the table and has had to work hard to translate his junior dominance to the bigger, tougher, and more talented NHL.

In his favour, Phillips has an exceptional arsenal of skills, including a heavy point shot, a long reach, a wide body and surprising foot speed. He has been hampered by frequent injuries at times and yet managed to establish a career high in goals (6), assists (16) and points with (22) during the 2001-02 season, before bettering those totals in 2003-04.



Aside from his World Junior experience, Phillips represented his homeland at the 2000 and 2005 World Championships.



Nolan Pratt Two-time Stanley Cup Champion (Tampa Bay and Colorado)

Hartford Whalers drafted 1993 5th round



Member of Tampa Bay Lightning…11th year in NHL



While growing up in northern Alberta during the early 1980s, Nolan Pratt played hockey, lacrosse, and soccer with considerable excitement. But between his three passions, hockey prevailed at the top of the flagpole when it came to a career of choice. Like so many Alberta boys of his day, he was glued to his TV set on Saturday nights to watch his idols, Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky, work their magic.



When his turn came, it was with the Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL. There, Pratt balanced strong physical play with effective playmaking skills to become a club leader in scoring from the blueline. The Hartford Whalers drafted him early on in his Portland days. And not being immediate NHL material, he continued to sharpen his blades in the WHL until he turned pro in 1995.

At that point, Pratt waded into the world of minor-league hockey, first with the Richmond Renegades of the ECHL and then the Springfield Falcons of the AHL. It wasn’t until late in the 1996-97 season that he finally saw his first NHL action with the Whalers. He appeared in nine games, picking up his first two big-league assists.

He opened the following season with the New Haven Beast of the AHL where he played 54 games and then advanced to the Whalers’ new incarnation in Carolina. From that point on, he became an NHL regular. He played two more complete seasons with the Hurricanes where he established himself as a physical, stay-at-home rearguard who had little to do with whatever went on in the offensive zone.

In 2000-01, Pratt was blessed by a trade that sent him to Colorado. With the Avs, he continued to perform as a reserve defender who could cover bases in his own zone. By the end of the season, he got his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup. Pratt was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the start of the 2001-02 season and continued to play a solid defensive game, while helping the Bolts capture their first Stanley Cup title in 2004 and Pratt’s second as a player.





Brian Shantz Two time Ken McKenzie Trophy winner for top scorer in Central Hockey League

Winner of Bill Levins Trophy for Central Hockey League MVP



11 years of semi-pro hockey



CHL 7th in goals, 17th in assists, 5th in career points









Bobby Stewart NCAA Championship Maine Black Bears. Team Captain

Six years of semi-pro hockey



Despite short minor hockey career holds many record in United Hockey League and West Coast Hockey League





Scottie Upshall 2000: Bronze Medal (2000 World Hockey Challenge)

2000-01: CHL – All-Rookie Team (Canadian Major Junior)



2000-01: Rookie of the Year (CHL)



2000-01: WHL All-Rookie Team



2000-01: Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL Rookie of the Year)



2001-02: WHL West Second All-Star Team



2002: Silver Medal (2002 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships)



2003: Silver Medal (2003 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships)



2003-04: Calder Cup Milwaukee Admirals



Upshall began catching scouts’ eyes as a member of the 2000 Royal Bank Cup winning Fort McMurray Oil Barons. He was also named 1999-2000 AJHL Rookie of the Year, as well as being awarded the Oil Barons Rookie of the Year and People’s Choice Award. He then joined the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, and following to seasons of impressive play at the major junior and international levels, Upshall was drafted in the first round, 6th overall, by the Nashville Predators in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Following the Blazers’ early exit from 2003 WHL playoffs, he joined the Predators’ AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, and played for them in their playoffs. During that time, he also made his NHL debut April 27, 2003 against the San Jose Sharks.

Upshall tried to establish himself with the Predators, however he never found his scoring touch, so he would spend time with both the Predators and the Admirals throughout his entire career in Nashville. During that time, he would win the Calder Cup in the 2003-04 and would make it to the finals again in 2005-06 after Nashville was eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

For the 2006-07 season, Upshall began to spend time solely with the Predators until a groin injury kept him sidelined.

Following a conditioning stint with the Admirals, Upshall was traded, along with Ryan Parent and two draft picks (first and third round picks), to the Philadelphia Flyers for Peter Forsberg on February 15, 2007. He scored his first goal as a Flyer in his debut against the New York Rangers on February 17, 2007 and then followed it up with another goal in his very next game against the Boston Bruins on February 19, 2007.



1999 – 2000 Fort McMurray Oil Barons

Royal Bank Championship National Junior A Champions

Players: Scott Basiuk, Kent Beagle, Jason Boyd, Tyler Brough, Michael Brown, Galloway Carrroll, Jeff Drummond, Shane Frank, Travis Gladue, Chad Ketzel, Dave McCulloch, Scott McQueen, Brad McTavish, Colin Murphy, Clint Orr, Edward Skip Renauld, Nick Roberts, Nathan Rosychuk, Dustin Schwartz, Quinn Sherdahl, Robbie Staudinger, Craig Strain, Justin Trudeau, Scottie Upshall, Brent Zelenewhich

Staff: Gates Genereux, Fran Gow, Kevin Higo, Wendell Hodgson, Shane Kearney

1995 Fort McMurray PeeWee Barons Champions of the international division for the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament

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