'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
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.
Mookie Betts leads Dodgers past Blue Jays 4-2; Toronto drops fifth consecutive game
Mookie Betts went 3 for 5, including a triple and an RBI single, as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Saturday.