'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
Canada Disability Benefit needs to safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.