In his first international competition, Team Canada captain Kruise Reddick led the national men's hockey team to a bronze medal, as Canada defeated the Czech Republic 6-2, Saturday, Feb. 14 at the 2015 Winter Universiade (University Games) in Granada, Spain.
This year, Reddick was one of 1,200 elite university athletes from around the world competing in the biennial event, and says stepping up to the podium is “amazing.”
“Making it to the podium felt pretty amazing. It's a huge honour to represent your country internationally,” he says. “We would have liked to bring home the gold, but it's such a huge honour to represent your country and to bring home a medal for Canada is pretty amazing.”
“Obviously, we had an expectation of winning gold, and we knew we could medal. To get the gold, we knew we had to get past Russia,” says Reddick. “They were the toughest team we played and the semi-final (game) against them was the real gold medal round.”
Reddick says that regardless of the disappointing 3-2 loss in the semi-finals to the Russian Federation's team (where the Russians scored twice in a shootout to defeat the Canadians), playing against Canada's on-ice rivals was another personal hockey highlight for him.
“It's pretty amazing to wear the Canadian jersey and come up against Russia,” he says. “I was really looking forward to playing the Russians. That whole Canada-Russia rivalry is something special, and it was surreal lining up against Russia. Nothing can take that experience away.”
Not only did Reddick don Canada's colours as part of an international hockey squad; he was also named Team Canada's captain for men's hockey.
“Just to be named captain was pretty amazing,” he says. “It left me speechless. Just playing on Team Canada and wearing the maple leaf on the ice is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Being captain wasn't something I expected at all, but I'm truly honoured and it's something that I'll look back on for the rest of my life and be extremely proud of.”
Reddick is quick to dismiss his own impressive achievements on the ice during the competition-including a hat trick in a 7-0 win against Team USA, which catapulted Canada into the semi-finals-choosing instead to focus on the team.
“The excitement, the momentum, and the coming together as a team builds,” he says. “We met in Calgary before we flew out and we played one game against each other the night before. We got our team jerseys there and a team picture.”
“Just getting our Team Canada jerseys was a great moment,” he adds. “From there, we really grew as a team, and with every game we played, we grew closer as the tournament progressed.”
Reddick says Team Canada was prepared for the Games' six-game schedule, but took nothing for granted.
“The CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) schedule is 28 games,” says Reddick. “That prepares you pretty well for it.”
However, during Canada's first game-a match against South Korea-which ended in an 11-1 win for the Canadian squad, Reddick says, “By the end of the first period, we were tied 1-1. We had to pull it together pretty quick, and we did. You learn something from every game and every team you play and you don't take anything for granted.”
Although the Canadian team's focus was on playing to win, Reddick says they did have a chance to see the sights of Granada, and found an unexpected new fan base.
“I didn't realize what a big event this was until I got here,” says Reddick. “The fan support was phenomenal, and as Canadians, the people in Granada were great. They really got behind our team. They really seemed to take a liking to the Canadians.”
“Hockey was our committment,” continues Reddick. “We had breakfast each morning and practices and meetings. But we did get the opportunity to see some pretty amazing things.”
“Granada is a gorgeous city. One of the highlights for me was seeing the Alhambra Palace, which was first built in 889, and later rebuilt in the 11th century. It's huge and the palace is gorgeous.”
Team Canada played all six games in the city's Granada Sport Palace in front of 4,400 fans, and by doing so, helped make Spanish hockey history.
“In Granada, we actually played on a basketball arena which was turned into an ice rink,” says Reddick. “The ice-makers and Zambonis all came from Italy, so it was the first time there had ever been ice made there.”
Reddick is looking ahead to his next competition, when his home team, the University of Alberta Golden Bears head to Halifax March 12-15 to compete in the CIS University Cup.
“The nationals are next,” he says. “Then I'll work a few weeks up here (in Edmonton). After that, I'm going to enjoy some time at home, enjoying the summer and seeing my family and friends.”
“I'm looking forward to it.”
