2018 Athletes of the Year Awarded

Tuesday, February 26, 2019 - 7:15 PM

The City of St. John’s congratulates the winners of the 2018 Athletes of the Year, announced at a reception held at St. John’s City Hall this evening.
 
Female Athlete of the Year
Maggie Connors

In 2018, hockey player Maggie Connors played for Team Canada at World Women’s Under-18 Championships in Dmitrov, Russia. There her team claimed a bronze medal, defeating Russia 5-1. Maggie finished the tournament with three points in six games and assisted on one of the goals in the bronze medal game. Maggie also played for Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school in Minnesota, finishing 2nd in team scoring with 75 points in 50 games and helping her school win USA Hockey’s Under-19 National Women’s Championship in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Maggie is currently in her first year of university and playing hockey for the Princeton Tigers in the NCAA Division 1.

Male Athlete of the Year
Liam Hickey

In 2018, para hockey player Liam Hickey competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, for Canada’s Para Hockey team. At these Games, Liam was 4th overall in tournament scoring with 11 points in five games. He had six goals and five assists helping lead Canada to the gold medal game against rival Team USA. In the gold medal game Liam recorded an assist, however his Team Canada lost 2-1 in overtime. In London, Ontario, the Team Canada para hockey team won a silver medal at the 2018 Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup. Liam also competed with Team Canada’s wheelchair basketball team in the 2018 Kitakyushu Champions Cup in Japan. Liam is currently at Memorial University taking Human Kinetics & Recreation and Business courses, with an interest in Sports Training Management.

Team of the Year
Team Gushue

In 2018, Team Gushue competed at both the national and international curling levels. At the 2018 Tim Horton’s Brier in Regina, Team Gushue defeated Alberta’s Team Bottcher 6-4 to claim their second straight Canadian Men’s curling championship. Team Gushue then represented Canada at the World Men’s Curling Championships in Las Vegas. They faced Sweden in the championship game and would lose 7-3 to earn the silver medal. The team went on to win two Grand Slam of Curling events, that being the Princess Auto Elite 10 Grand Slam in Chatham-Kent, and the Humpty’s Champions Cup in Calgary.