MacDougall thrilled to build on tradition of P.E.I. coaches in QMJHL
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Gardiner MacDougall said winning the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) coach-of-the-year award is a tremendous honour and privliege to follow in the footsteps of previous winners from P.E.I.
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'It's nice to follow and keep up the Island tradition of top coaches in this league,' MacDougall told The Guardian in a phone interview on June 5. '(Charlottetown Islanders general manager and head coach) Jimmy Hulton got it a couple of times and (former Saint John Sea Dogs head coach) Gerard (Turk) Gallant (of Summerside) got it a couple of times.
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MacDougall, from Bedeque, was named the award recipient during the QMJHL's Golden Pucks Awards in Quebec City on June 5.
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In his first season with the Moncton Wildcats after 24 years as head coach of the UNB men's hockey program, MacDougall led the team to a franchise record of 53 wins and 108 points while scoring a league-best 294 goals and allowing a league-low 144.
The Wildcats recently won the franchise's third QMJHL championship and its first in 15 years. At the Memorial Cup Canadian major-junior hockey championship tournament, the Wildcats were eliminated in the semifinals by the eventual-champion London Knights.
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'One guy gets the recognition but it's a full team effort, ' said MacDougall. 'The head coach gets the honour but I had the best staff as well.
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'I had a terrific assistant coaching staff, training staff, fitness staff and obviously I had a pretty good GM (MacDougall's son, Taylor MacDougall) and a tremendous owner (Robert Irving).'
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'We said this year the strength of our team is the team and when you get team success, there is a lot of recognition for different players and in this case a coach.'
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MacDougall praised the contributions of the entire staff, noting everyone bought in from the opening practice.
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'We played better hockey the second half and had a tremendous playoff,' said MacDougall. 'It's always disappointing to come up a little short at the Memorial Cup but, overall, it was a pretty special year, especially for the players.'
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Asked if there was anything in particular that stuck out from his first season with the Wildcats, MacDougall acknowledged there were a lot of 'wow' moments.
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Toronto Sun
3 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
CHRISTMAS IN JULY: A beautiful friendship
Variety Village best pals Kaden Jaglowitz, 13, (L) and his his best buddy Georgio Gonsalves, 12, who met at the Variety Village Summer Camp three years ago, shoot hoops in the main sports clubhouse on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland / Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Most kids with disabilities have no friends. None. One Canadian university study put membership in that lonely kids' club at 53%. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Sad but true. Not so at Variety Village. Which brings us to the bustling lobby of that iconic east end sports centre the other day. Georgio Gonsalves, 12, glances out the big windows and his eyes spark. He bounces up and down. 'K!' he exclaims. K as in Kaden Jaglowitz, 13. The two boys are best buds. They have not seen each other for all of three days. They love each other. I mean real love. 'Kaden is so sweet,' Georgio tells me. 'I love Georgio,' says Kaden. Variety Village best pals Kaden Jaglowitz, 13, (L) and his his best buddy Georgio Gonsalves, 12, who met at the Variety Village Summer Camp three years ago, shoot hoops in the main sports clubhouse on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland They have other things in common, including Down syndrome and heart surgery scars and the like. Loneliness, too – until that vanished three summers ago at Variety Village's legendary camps. By chance, their moms had enrolled them in the introductory sports camp. At the end of day one, Georgio's mom, Mary Kapetanos, came to get him. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'This is Kaden,' Georgio said, solemnly. 'He's my friend.' It was music to Mary's ears. Georgio had classmates, of course, but those relationships ended at the school bell. No one invited him for sleepovers. There were no BFFs – until that Variety camp, and Kaden. Kaden's mom, Julie, says: 'The camp counsellors told us Georgio got all sad about something and was sitting alone on a hill (on Village grounds) and Kaden came to him with a water bottle and put his arm around him, then they went off to play.' The boys have been a dynamic duo ever since. 'They're like brothers,' says Julie. 'Georgio is the sensitive kind of kid and Kaden is the nurturing type,' says Mary. 'Their relationship is so sweet, so kind and tender.' Read More This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Their moms say the boys even have their own language, which sounds like garble to you and me but is Shakespeare to them. The moms, both single, are like sisters now. Kaden and Julie have become part of Georgio's extended Greek family. The moms and sons went to Disney World together. In the Village fieldhouse, the boys demo their basketball skills for Sun photographer Jack Boland. Basketball is their sport, born of a Variety summer camp. They play for a junior Special Olympics team called the Basket Hounds. They learned to boogie at a Variety summer dance camp. Fave tunes include JoJo Siwa's Boomerang . Hey-hey-hey, I don't really care about what they say Won't let the haters get their way I'ma come back like a boomerang. Hey-hey-hey. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Variety Village best pals Kaden Jaglowitz, 13, (L) and his his best buddy Georgio Gonsalves, 12, who met at the Variety Village Summer Camp three years ago, shoot hoops in the main sports clubhouse on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland / Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Haters gonna hate. A total stranger once marched in off the sidewalk and asked Julie, who was on her porch with baby Kaden, 'does your child have Down syndrome?' The gall. 'I'm never wrong,' said the woman and marched off. Kaden spent weeks in ICU and could eat no solids until he was two. He was tiny. 'People used to come up and ask, 'Don't you feed your baby?'' says Julie. Baby Georgio, meanwhile, faced so much resistance from educators – one rejected him after an 'interview' at age two-and-a-half – his mom, a Montessori teacher, started her own school. Every parent of Down syndrome kids I've met over decades of the Sun Christmas Fund for Variety Village has similar stories. Society may be more open to the disability world these days, but we're a long way from real 'inclusion.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But back to Kaden and Georgio. Tuckered out from basketball, the boys get out their 'Barbies.' That's what they call them all. Their stash ranges from Iron Man and dinosaurs to anime to actual Barbies, including one with Down syndrome features. The boys use them to work out thoughts and feelings, to confront troubles at school. For instance, one Barbie says to the other, 'Oh, yeah, you said I was stupid,' and a third doll cuts in, 'No, you're not!' And so on. You get the idea. Toronto SUN columnist Mike Strobel with Variety Village basketball buddies Kaden, 13, and his mom Julie (on left) and his best buddy Georgio, 12, and his mom Mary (on right) after hoops in the main sports clubhouse on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland / Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Two boys boisterously playing with dolls would draw stares in many places. But not at Variety Village. 'I don't know anywhere else, other than our homes,' says Julie, 'where kids can foster real friendships based on who they are without having to mask any part of themselves to fit it.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The boys are back at Variety's summer camps in July – starting together with swimming, though they both fret that they're going to sink. Other camps, for kids of all abilities, include taekwondo, art, drama, track and field and rock climbing – and basketball. You are lucky if you have a friendship like that of Kaden and Georgio. Variety Village remains its backdrop. You can help keep it so. Any donations in June to the Sun Christmas Fund – Christmas in July? – will be tripled thanks to Canadian Tire Jumpstart and a private donor, to a total of $150,000. Donate at or use the QR code on this page. Could be the start of a beautiful friendship. northchannelmike@ Columnists Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls World
Winnipeg Free Press
14 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Collaros itchin' to throw vs. Lions
VANCOUVER — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are looking to build on a stellar season opener in a rematch with the B.C. Lions at BC Place on Saturday (6 p.m.), but they will look a little different while doing it. Changes at quarterback, running back and along the offensive line punctuate what's been a week of ironing out wrinkles for the Blue and Gold, and they aren't the only ones. The Lions are dealing with some major changes themselves. The veteran Winnipeg squad is quite comfortable in these situations. The club was 2-0 in home-and-homes last year, and looked good in each rematch, beating the Roughriders by five and the Elks by 28 in their second go-rounds. Despite their success, head coach Mike O'Shea said he doesn't believe there is a secret sauce in these circumstances. 'I really don't think there is. There's so much time between games. Even on shorter weeks, it's not like you're playing every second night, right? I still don't believe you can carry momentum from one week to the next. In game, there's such a thing as momentum; in-between there really isn't,' he said. 'You have to treat this one like it's a separate entity. So you prepare, and you always believe your opponent's gonna give you their best, and it's really about what we do anyway.' This week stands to be a bit different than a regular rematch. There are more season debuts, plenty of injuries and enough changes to the depth chart for this to feel like it could take an entirely different path. This is the final matchup between the West Division foes, so the Bombers can take care of the season series with a win or by avoiding a loss by more than 14 points. It would be the earliest that this season series will have been wrapped up. Before we start counting eggs, let's look at some of the biggest storylines leading up to kickoff in the latest edition of 5 Storylines. Zach Collaros might have a hard time sleeping on the eve of this one. The Bombers' starting pivot will make his season debut after serving a one-game suspension last week. Collaros detailed the agony he endured during the season-opener, as he paced the hallways inside Princess Auto Stadium and walked on a treadmill while watching his teammates earn a 34-20 victory. JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES 'I'm pretty fired up,' said Bomber QB Zach Collaros. He's moved past it now, but those pre-game jitters have been around since he stepped on the field for practice Monday. 'I'm pretty fired up,' said Collaros. 'I don't think that's ever going to go away. If it does, it's probably time to step away. I'm just excited to get out there and play. It's been a long time since the last time I was out there, and I couldn't be taking the field with a better group of guys. And that's the coolest part about it, is you got a lot of old friends on this team, guys that we've accomplished a lot with, and to be back out there with them, it's gonna be a lot of fun.' Though it was against other regimes, Collaros has enjoyed success against the Lions, boasting a 13-4 record against the coastal squad. One week after Winnipeg's offence operated with its backup quarterback, it's the Lions' turn. Lions head coach Buck Pierce confirmed Friday that Jeremiah Masoli will start in place of Nathan Rourke, who suffered an oblique injury in the fourth quarter of the Week 2 contest. The franchise pivot is labelled a game-time decision, and while he's not going to play, Pierce said he will dress. The Lions roster the minimum requirement of three quarterbacks, so Rourke is listed as the third option on the depth chart but is not expected to play. It's the cautious and perhaps wise move by Pierce, who is attempting to preserve his signal-caller with 18 weeks to go in the regular season. Enter the 36-year-old Masoli, who is in his first season with B.C. after eight with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the last three with the Ottawa Redblacks. The veteran pivot completed seven of 10 passes for 84 passing yards while throwing one interception in relief of Rourke last week. Masoli has endured a brutal stretch of injuries dating to his days in Hamilton. He suffered a torn ACL in 2019, a long-term, bone-based leg injury in 2022 and then ruptured his Achilles tendon in 2023. He's not taking this opportunity for granted. 'I'm super thankful,' Masoli said after Friday's walkthrough. 'I was so thankful just to even get the call to come back up here, and then let alone be here at B.C., a place that I've always wanted to be at. It's not about me at all. It's about our team and just us coming together and really forging our identity early in the season and making sure we are who we want to be on the field.' The injuries to Brady Oliveira and Rourke are unfortunate in more ways than one. They are two of the league's biggest homegrown stars, and they will be on the sideline for a pivotal early season matchup. Injuries to star players are never good for the three-down product, but especially so when it's a pair of players who rep the Maple Leaf as proudly as Oliveira and Rourke. It's not as though this contest is void of any stud national players, however. The Bombers will continue to field Grey Cup Most Outstanding Canadian, receiver Nic Demski and the Lions still have last year's leader in receiving yards, Justin McInnis. Down their star rusher, the Bombers will roster two running backs with combined experience of one professional game, with 23 carries for 130 yards. Those numbers belong to rookie Matthew Peterson, who entered last week's contest in relief of Oliveira and looked anything but a player making his pro debut. Bombers fans are still buzzing about his display of power, speed and shiftiness, which were all highlighted on a 38-yard highlight-reel touchdown run. However, Peterson, who weighs in at 5-9, 203 pounds, could serve in a change-of-pace role this week with fellow rookie Quinton Cooley — 5-7, 220 pounds — who was upgraded from the practice roster. Cooley shone in pre-season, racking up 92 rushing yards on 13 carries and catching three passes for 45 yards in two exhibition contests. His punishing play-style impressed the coaching staff enough to keep him around on the practice roster, and perhaps he will have an opportunity to show that in a game which impacts the standings. 'You know, Quinton's got speed to him too, and he's got a lot of power behind him,' said Peterson, who happily accepted the lightning moniker. 'He solidifies that physicality that this team requires, and so it's going to be very fun to go out there and not just watch him, but to be able to play with him.' It's the second time the Bombers will start without Oliveira since he took the reins from fellow Winnipegger Andrew Harris in 2022. One of the units that shone brightest in the Bombers' victory was the offensive line. It's a unit that underwent some changes this off-season, with guard Liam Dobson joining the Ticats in free agency and tackle Eric Lofton suffering a knee injury early in camp. Micah Vanterpool and Kendall Randolph, a pair of sophomores, took over seamlessly, opening lanes for Peterson to run through while keeping Streveler's jersey clean for the most part. However, with changes elsewhere on the roster, the Bombers will start Gabe Wallace, another second-year player, at left guard in place of Vanterpool to comply with the CFL's ratio rule. Wallace was thought to be one of two battling for the starting gig at left guard (Tui Eli) throughout training camp, but fell out of the running as Vanterpool emerged. Checking in at a hulking 6-6, 340 pounds, the 24-year-old Wallace is a people-mover with a knack for getting extra nasty when the score counts. He got some run as a rookie in the 2024 season-opener against Montreal and dressed for the first 11 games of 2024 before suffering a knee injury that knocked him out until the regular season finale. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. X: @jfreysam Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
17 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pierce drawing from his time with the Bombers
VANCOUVER — The West Coast looks good on Buck Pierce. Sure, the B.C. Lions' head coach is a little busier these days than the last time pro football brought him here as a player, but he's often reminded why this was the perfect place to land his first gig as a bench boss. 'It's good. It's kind of full circle, right? I grew up on the West Coast, so being back out here, I consistently have family and friends coming up to games. So, there's some familiar parts about it,' Pierce, who was raised in Crescent City, Calif., said Friday in a chat with the Free Press. DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES B.C. Lions' Buck Pierce was handed his first loss as head coach of the club last week by his former team. 'There's some familiarity, absolutely, but being in Winnipeg for the time that I was there, I also got accustomed to that. Life moves a little faster out here,' he added while chuckling. 'It's a little busier. But there's obviously things that I've missed about living here, but there's things that I miss about Winnipeg, too.' The 43-year-old spent the first 10 years of his coaching career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, two as a running backs coach and three working with quarterbacks, before taking offensive co-ordinator duties for four seasons. Hired by Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea at the beginning of his tenure in 2014, Pierce didn't waste many opportunities to learn from one of the all-time winningest coaches. That time together has already served him well, as Pierce often finds himself drawing back on his time with O'Shea. 'I mean, I learned a ton — football related, unfootball related. I really enjoyed our relationship, obviously, as co-workers, but just as two guys who wanted the same thing, and very like-minded. I ask myself all the time, 'What would we have done in that situation?'… and I have no issues ever picking up the phone and asking either.' The off-season was different than what he was used to, being onboarded then getting right into building a roster around his franchise quarterback Nathan Rourke. Pierce was quick to correct himself, saying he doesn't have an off-season now. His phone is always on because he needs to be reachable. He's also spent less time watching TV, something he was able to do as an offensive co-ordinator. Though the added responsibilities have life moving at Mach 50, Pierce said those are the most enjoyable parts of the job. 'You understand the role to an extent, but you don't know until you actually do it. It's more of the off-the-field stuff. It's being more involved with communications throughout the organization, on every level. And then the field stuff is the field stuff. It's about football and getting to know the guys, and all those types of things,' he said. 'Somebody asked me about what was one of my favourite things about it: it's just about being around the players and seeing how they react, and what they need. So being able to help it in that role of being a provider for them and making sure that their needs are being met, and if they're not, what can I do to help?' That was also his favourite part about being an offensive co-ordinator, but now that duty is extrapolated as the leader of an entire team. 'Being able to communicate with the entire roster, and getting to know guys, maybe a little bit more personally than what you would in different roles. But, as far as being a co-ordinator, to a head coach, I think you have more communication with the whole team, and I think that's excellent and that's what I enjoy.' That sentiment quickly resonated with his players. It didn't take long for Pierce to win over the locker room and get team members to buy into his message. 'He kind of just wears it on his sleeve. It's kind of who he is,' said quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who will start for the Lions when they face the Bombers at BC Place on Saturday (6 p.m. CT). Masoli called Pierce 'an open book' who has instilled a 'no-nonsense' mentality around the club. It's made it easy to rally behind him. 'We talk about grit at this place and just having that heart, and he kind of walks around and exudes it just with his personality,' he added. 'It just kind of permeates through the locker room, and we all got to follow suit.' How Pierce has changed from his time as an offensive co-ordinator is a question perhaps only centre Michael Couture can answer. The nine-year vet spent seven of those working with Pierce in Winnipeg — two of which he was calling plays for — before heading west in 2023. 'For me? No,' said Couture. 'I'm getting the same guy, the same guy that I remember. He was one of the first people I got to talk to when I got into the building in Winnipeg, my rookie year in 2016, and to me, he's been the same guy ever since then. It's been familiar, which is nice.' Couture was asked by several teammates about their new head coach when he was hired in December. The centre did his best to talk him up, but it appears Pierce has done a fine job of selling himself. 'His attention to the details as a coach,' Couture said was his best quality as a head coach. 'I think that's something I've heard throughout the locker room that has been a big point so far this year, and I think guys respond really well to his message day in and day out. It's very consistent, and it's something that a lot of guys can relate to, being that he's been in our position before. So that's huge coming from the head guy.' Pierce has already won and lost as a head coach, as the Lions carry a 1-1 record into Week 3. His first tick in the loss column came against his former longtime club in disappointing fashion — a 34-20 decision in Winnipeg — but not all was bad on the trip. It was an emotional return to a familiar place for Pierce, who was honoured with a tribute video and a standing ovation from the sellout crowd inside Princess Auto Stadium. A defeat is never enjoyable, but that moment certainly took a bit of the sting out of the final result. 'I would not be telling the truth if I said there wasn't emotion going back into the building and being on the other side. We're humans, and they did a great tribute there during the game. I have such fond memories of the people there. It's the people there that I've been through it with and got relationships with,' Pierce said. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'So, yeah, it was good to be back.' He paused briefly and revealed a telling grin. 'But we're excited to see them again, too.' X: @jfreysam Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
