'So many emotions': Saskatoon Blades hire Indigenous former player as assistant coach
Former Saskatoon Blades player Wacey Rabbit has been named an assistant coach for the Saskatoon Blades.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “There’s just so many emotions going through my head.”
Rabbit was planning on returning to coach a British Columbia Junior Hockey League team in Alberni Valley.
“If any other team in the league or any other team in hockey really, asked me to do this I probably wouldn't have left. The Blades was something really special,” Rabbit said.
Rabbit spent four seasons with the Blades from 2002-06 before winning the 2007 Memorial Cup with the Vancouver Giants. He was born in Lethbridge and is a member of the Kainai First Nation. His hope is to help give back to the Saskatoon Indigenous population.
“The province has grown the game for Indigenous players. I just want to come back and be a part of that and help in any way I can,” Rabbit said.
Rabbit says having an Indigenous person on the bench gives Indigenous people someone to identify with. He remembers when he was younger watching fellow Indigenous player Shane Peacock play for the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
“Seeing someone that kind of came from the same background that looked like me, that meant the world to me,” he said.
Joining him is his wife Ashley Callingbull, a 2015 former Mrs. Universe pageant winner, who is from Enoch Cree Nation. She will be serving as a brand ambassador for the Blades and the Saskatchewan Rush.
“I want to create more partnerships and more opportunities for other Indigenous peoples,” she said. “I can actually make a difference because the work that I do is usually with kids that are at risk or women that are escaping domestic violence.”
She hopes to be talking at schools and at different shelters, organizations, and within the community.
“It’s so important for Indigenous peoples to see other Indigenous peoples rising because it’s so rare to see us in these spaces.”
University of Saskatchewan Indigenous studies professor Priscilla Settee says she was thrilled when she heard the news of the couple being hired by the Blades.
She said they'll serve as role models for upcoming generations and their hiring could help dispel racism, which she says exists in the game of hockey.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.