Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney, Mayor Matt Brown, Hockey Canada Foundation Chair Barry Lorenzetti, and London host organizing committee chair Jeff Macoun. Photo by Scott Kitching. Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney, Mayor Matt Brown, Hockey Canada Foundation Chair Barry Lorenzetti, and London host organizing committee chair Jeff Macoun. Photo by Scott Kitching.
London

Hockey Canada To Honour Goyette, Babcock, Smyth

When Hockey Canada holds its annual Foundation Gala and Golf event in London this summer, three very recognizable names in hockey will be honoured.

Hockey Canada announced Tuesday morning that Danielle Goyette, Mike Babcock, and Ryan Smyth will be the 2018 Distinguished Honourees of the Order of Hockey in Canada. The honour recognizes people for their "outstanding contributions or service to the growth and development of the sport of hockey in Canada."

Goyette, who currently coaches the University of Calgary women's hockey team, was an eight-time IIHF World Champion with Canada's women's hockey team. She went to the Olympics three times as a player and once as an assistant coach, winning three gold medals and one silver. She was also selected to carry the flag into the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Goyette had 219 points in 172 games with Canada’s National Women’s Team over her 15-year career with the national program. She was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2013, and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

Babcock, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has also had success while representing his country. He was behind the bench when Canada won gold at the 1997 World Junior Championships, in 2005 when he led Canada to a gold medal at the World Championships, in 2010 when Canada won Olympic gold in Vancouver, and in 2014 when Canada won gold at the Olympics in Sochi. Babcock also coached Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which Canada won. Those accomplishments, along with coaching the Detroit Red Wings to a Stanley Cup title in 2008, make him the only coach to have won the Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal, a World Cup, a World Championship, and a World Junior Championship.

Smyth, who has often been called 'Captain Canada' for his successes while playing for Canada in international events, has been part of Canadian teams that have won two gold medals and a silver at the World Championships, gold at the Olympics, and championships at the World Cup of Hockey and the Spengler Cup. He had 842 points in 1,270 games in an NHL career that saw stops in Edmonton, New York (Islanders), Colorado, and Los Angeles.

“As players and coaches, this group has led the way on and off the ice, teaching and inspiring Canadian players at all levels of the game,” said Tom Renney, the chief executive officer of Hockey Canada. “To be selected as a Distinguished Honouree of the Order of Hockey in Canada is one of the most prestigious accomplishments one can receive in hockey in Canada, and this year’s honourees are well-deserving of the recognition. On behalf of my colleagues at Hockey Canada, the Order of Hockey in Canada selection committee, as well as our board members, I would like to congratulate Danielle, Mike, and Ryan, and we look forward to celebrating them in London on June 18.”

The Hockey Canada Foundation will hold its annual Gala and Golf tournament in London June 18 and 19. The event has raised about $4-million since 2009 to help grow the game of hockey across Canada. Half of the proceeds stay in the host community.

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