Sports Briefs - April 2015

NAIG Might Head To Toronto

Canada’s most populous city might end up hosting the next North American Indigenous Games (NAIG).

That’s because only one association, the Aboriginal Sport and Wellness Council of Ontario (ASWCO), submitted a letter of intent to bid on hosting the 2017 NAIG.

The deadline to submit a letter of intent to the NAIG Council to host the Games was Feb. 11.

ASWCO has identified Toronto as the host candidate city.

Despite being the lone bidder, ASWCO is not automatically awarded the rights to host the next NAIG.

The next step in the process is for ASWCO officials to prepare and submit a bid package by April 2.

This package must contain detailed information about how the host society would govern and manage the multi-sport competition.

The bid package must also contain details on the proposed operating budget, venues, as well as the sport and cultural programs that plan to be provided.

NAIG Council officials would need to review the bid package afterwards. Other steps before ASWCO could potentially be awarded the next NAIG include a site evaluation tour and a final bid presentation.

The NAIG Council would then vote on whether to award the Games to ASWCO.

If the 2017 NAIG are indeed held in Toronto it would mark the third straight time the Games have been held at a Canadian location.

More than 4,000 athletes took part at the last NAIG, staged last year in Regina. And prior to that, the 2008 NAIG were held in Cowichan, B.C.

The first games were in 1990 in Edmonton. The games have been contested a total of eight times so far.

Montour Signs Pro Contract

Brandon Montour has turned pro a bit sooner than some had anticipated. The 20-year-old Six Nations defenceman had been drafted in the second round, 55th over-all, by the Anaheim Ducks during last year’s National Hockey League Entry Draft.

But Montour, who had spent last season starring in the United States Hockey League with the Iowa-based Waterloo Black Hawks, then began his NCAA collegiate career.

He was a member of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst squad this season. Though he missed the early portions of the season due to eligibility issues, Montour, who played 15 games less than some of his teammates, still ended up being the club’s top scoring defenceman this season.

He averaged almost a point per game, earning 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 21 matches. No doubt supporters of the club were keen to see what Montour could accomplish in his three remaining seasons of collegiate eligibility.

Montour, however, has opted not to return to the school and ink a three-year entry level contract with the Ducks. He’s already joined the Virginia-based Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League for the remainder of their season.

The Admirals are the Ducks’ top affiliate club. Montour played his first pro game on March 18, as Norfolk eked out a 1-0 victory against the host Albany Devils.

Montour, who played three years of Junior B hockey in Ontario, has seen his career take off since heading south.

He had been bypassed by all clubs during the first two years he was eligible for the NHL Entry Draft. Pro squads began to seriously take note of his abilities while he was with the Black Hawks.

Montour was chosen as the USHL’s Player of the Year after racking up 62 points in 60 games with his Waterloo squad. He was also the league’s top scorer in the 2014 playoffs, earning 16 points, including a half-dozen goals in 12 contests.

Warriors Join Lacrosse League

An expansion Junior A lacrosse team that will operate in Nova Scotia this season is expected to feature a predominately Aboriginal lineup.

Officials with the Mi’kmaq Warriors anticipate up to 70 per cent of those on the club’s roster in 2015 will be Aboriginal.

The Warriors, who will play their home contests in Truro, N.S., are gearing up for their inaugural season in the East Coast Junior Lacrosse League.

Team officials would have preferred to play their home contests in a First Nations community, but there is no First Nations community in the province that currently owns its own arena.

The club’s roster will feature players aged 17-21.

Besides the Warriors, the six-team ECJLL also includes four other franchises in Nova Scotia. They are the Dartmouth Bandits, Sackville Wolves, Halifax Northwest Marley Lions and Halifax Southwest Hurricanes.

The league also includes one squad based in New Brunswick, the Moncton Mavericks.