Windspeaker Sports Briefs - August 2014

Odjick’s Terminal Disease

Former National Hockey League player Gino Odjick is asking for privacy after revealing he has a rare terminal disease. Odjick, an Algonquin who was born in Maniwaki, Que., wrote a letter which was published on the Vancouver Canucks’ website in late June. Odjick wrote that two months earlier he was diagnosed with AL amyloidosis, a disease which causes abnormal protein to be produced. Deposits of this protein are being formed on his heart, causing it to harden.

Odjick said the original prognosis was that he could possibly live years with the disease. But doctors now believe it will be a lot less, perhaps months or even weeks.

Odjick has been in a Vancouver hospital since his diagnosis in April. He had gone to the hospital because he was experiencing a shortness of breath and was told the news of his disease two days later. The 43-year-old appeared in a total of 649 NHL contests between 1990 and 2002. Though he has stints with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders, Odjick spent the majority of his pro career (eight seasons) with the Canucks.

Odjick racked up a whopping 2,709 penalty minutes during his NHL career. He also earned 142 points, including 68 goals.
In his letter Odjick wrote in his heart he will always be a Canuck. And he mentioned his fondness of Vancouver fans and their “Gino, Gino” chants, adding he wished he could hear them again.
And he did. Several hundred fans gathered outside the Vancouver General Hospital on June 29 for a rally in his honour.

Odjick surprised the fans by coming outside the hospital to briefly greet his supporters.

In his letter Odjick added he’s hoping the media will respect his privacy as he wants to wants to spend his time now with his children and family.

Former Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller will be inducted into her university hall of fame this fall.

Horn-Miller, a Mohawk who represented Canada in the women’s water polo competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, will be honoured by Ottawa’s Carleton University. She’ll be inducted into the Ravens Athletics Hall of Fame at a gala in the nation’s capital on Oct. 16.

Horn-Miller will be one of four inductees into the hall of fame this year. During her days at Carleton Horn-Miller was named as the school’s female athlete of the year three times, from 1995-97. And she also guided the Ravens to Ontario championships twice.
After graduating from Carleton Horn-Miller went on to capture a gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg.

Horn-Miller is one of three former Carleton athletes that are joining the hall of fame this year. Another individual is being inducted as a builder.

Those entering via the athlete category had to be former Ravens’ varsity athletes who demonstrated excellence in athletic achievement and have not competed for Carleton for at least five years.

Including this year’s class of honourees, the Ravens Athletics Hall of Fame now has 36 inductees.

A new Junior A hockey franchise will be playing out of a rink on First Nation land in northern Ontario.

The Batchewana Attack will play its home contests at the Rankin Arena in Sault Ste. Marie. As mid-July was approaching, the Attack is one of eight clubs that had been announced to take part in the inaugural campaign of the Canadian International Hockey League (CIHL).

Despite the league’s moniker, all of the squads that have been announced so far are in Ontario. The CIHL is considered an independent league, however, since it is not sanctioned by Hockey Canada. Besides playing out of a First Nations rink, the Attack already have another Aboriginal connection.

That’s because former NHL player Denny Lambert, an Ojibwe who lives in Sault Ste. Marie, has been hired as the team’s head coach. Lambert is no stranger to coaching in the Soo.

He was a member of the coaching staff for the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for eight seasons. He served as the team’s head coach for three seasons, before being fired in 2011.

Lambert, a member of the Rankin (Batchewana) First Nation, had also played his junior hockey with the Greyhounds, for three seasons, from 1988 through 1991.

During his pro playing career Lambert appeared in 504 NHL matches, splitting his time between the Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers. He was credited with 94 points, including 27 goals.