Darryl Sittler is one of the greatest players to ever wear the Toronto Maple Leaf uniform. The former centreman was Toronto’s first choice, 8th overall, in the 1970 Amateur Draft and in 1980 he embarked on a career that led him to the top of the Leafs’ All-Time Points List and Goal Scoring List. In 844 games with Toronto, he recorded 389 goals and 527 assists for 916 points. In 1977-78 he amassed career highs in points (117), goals (45), assists (72) and penalty minutes (100) while playing in all 80 games.
Cyndi Desjardins
Cyndi Desjardins was a successful business manager, working in product development and sales management, as well as being a new mom when necrotizing fasciitis (otherwise known as flesh eating disease) entered her life and altered it forever. After five weeks of battling this disease, she awoke to find her hands and feet had been amputated in an effort to save her life.
Craig Forrest
Craig Forrest is one of the most successful Canadian soccer players of all time. Born in Coquitlam, B.C., he left home at the tender age of 16 to begin a new life overseas in the first step of a rewarding soccer career.
In the span of four years, he went from trainee to starter with Ipswich Town, a club on a tremendous rise in the English ranks. In the 1991/92 campaign, the club earned a Division Two crown and a berth in the English Premiership. The kick-off to the 1992/93 Premiership season included only 11 foreign players at starting positions, and as you can imagine, Craig was thrilled to be counted among them as Canada’s first representative in the league.
Cheryl Pounder
Cheryl Pounder was born in Montreal into a family of hockey enthusiasts. Her grandfather was a former GM of the Montreal Junior Canadiens, while her older brothers were already playing hockey, and the rink in the family’s backyard helped set her on the path to excel at Canada’s national sport. Upon moving to Mississauga, Ontario, she achieved the status of athlete of the year at both her high school and Wilfred Laurier University, where she earned an honours degree in Kinesiology.
Charles Hamelin
“These will be my Games.”
After trading world titles in short track’s glamour event with Dancing with the Stars winner Apolo Anton Ohno, Charles came into Vancouver looking to win an even bigger prize – an Olympic gold medal on home ice against his wildly popular American rival.
Chantal Vallee
Chantal Vallée is the Head Coach of the University of two-time Canadian University Champion Windsor Lancers Women’s Basketball.
She has been selected “Coach of the Year” 9 times in the last four years with a winning percentage of 90%.
Chantal was hired by the University of Windsor in 2005 even though she had never before coached a university team. At the time, they were ranked second-last in Canada; in the 2 years prior to Chantal’s arrival, the team had won only 8 of their 60+ games and were known as the “doormat of women’s basketball.”
Catriona Le May Doan
In any endeavour, crossing the finish line first – and repeatedly – takes incredible determination, dedication and talent. Catriona Le May Doan knows all about it. Canada’s Athlete of the year in 2002, Catriona Le May Doan is the speed skater whose world record-setting wins captivated and inspired millions of Canadians. The fastest woman on ice and the Canadian flag bearer at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremonies, she won the gold medal in the 500 metre event at those very games, defending her 1998 Olympic 500m gold and became the first Canadian to defend a gold medal at any Olympic Games. She has broken the world record for the event 8 times, and at the 2002 games, set the Olympic record time of 37.30 seconds. She is also a 5-time World Champion.
Cassie Campbell
At age five, Cassie Campbell laced up her first pair of skates. Twenty-eight years later, she is a heroine of Canadian sport, as captain and a forward for the Canadian Olympic Hockey Team. Cassie is a twelve-year veteran of the team, which she led to victory at both the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.
Cary Mullen
Cary Mullen, Olympian and World Cup Champion currently holds the World Downhill Speed Record for skiing 97 MPH (151 KMH) down the world’s most famous ski course in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Cary was a non-prodigy, an underdog, who placed last in his first World Cup race. He followed 5 key winning strategies to go from “worst to first’ and to ultimately become a two-time Olympian and World Cup Champion.
Carole Bertuzzi Luciani
Carole Bertuzzi Luciani is a dynamic speaker with a unique style guaranteed to keep audiences engaged, enthused and energized. Luciani counsels people on balancing their lives, coping with difficult others and revitalizing their workplaces. She sprinkles each session with her infectious brand of humour, relying on the everyday trials and tribulations of her own life. Listeners love her, leaving her sessions with a little more spring in their steps and always smiles on their faces!
Cameron Hughes
In 1994, Cameron Hughes got up out of his seat at an Ottawa Senators game and spontaneously pumped up the fans into an inspired frenzy. What started out as a gag soon turned into a full-time career as a “Sports Entertainer,” speaker and television host.
Brian Williams
Named to the Order of Canada in December 2011 for both his distinguished broadcasting career of more than 40 years and extensive community and volunteer work across the country, Brian Williams anchored CTV’s primetime Olympic coverage of both the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, playing a leading role in shaping and delivering the network’s award-winning coverage. Williams was recently awarded the first-ever Canadian Screen Award for Best Sports Host or Analyst in a Sports Program or Sportscast for his work on London 2012.