Trio of student athletes win Vanderburg Gagnon memorial award

Three players have been named the recipients of the second annual Vanderburg and Gagnon Memorial Coaches Award.

The award is given to players pursuing post-secondary education each year.

The 2023 honourees are Adrian O'Dell, Haley Howe, and Nathan Palmer. 

Additional details can be found in the following release:

The annual memorial award, now in its second year, will recognize and provide funds to local athletes pursuing post-secondary education each year

The families of Kyle Vanderburg and Don Gagnon are thrilled and honoured to announce that, thanks to outstanding support from the community, three student athletes have been selected as recipients  of this year’s memorial award.

Adrian O’Dell, Haley Howe and Nathan Palmer are the recipients of the second annual award, which honours the legacies of Don and Kyle in support of future leaders who share the love of hockey for years to come.

In the fall, Adrian will study Electrical Engineering at Sault College. He hopes to continue to play hockey at the post-secondary level.

“I am very honoured to be a recipient of this very prestigious award from the Vanderburg and Gagnon families. Hockey has been a great passion of mine since the young age of four and a very important part of my life,” Adrian said. “Hockey has had a great  impact on my development as a person, teaching me the value of commitment, teamwork, discipline, and leadership.”

Nathan will also be attending Sault College, where he plans to take the Carpentry program while playing college hockey for the men’s team.

“I couldn’t be more honoured to be selected as a recipient for this award,” Nathan said. “To obtain an award named after two very important people in my hockey career and life in general means a lot to me and I’ll do everything I can to make them proud.”

Haley is slated to start her Kinesiology degree at Lake State University, where she plans to continue her hockey career.

“I am honoured to be a recipient of the Vanderburg and Gagnon Coaches award,” she said. “it represents and dignifies the compassion, respect, and dedication to hockey in this community.”

Last year’s recipients, Brooke Brazeau and Milana Perri, both expressed their gratitude for this scholarship in their first year of postsecondary studies.

Brooke is studying nursing at Sault College, and put hr scholarship mooney toward the purchase of books and a necessary CPR training course for her program.

“I was very appreciative and honoured to be a first recipient of the Kyle Vanderburg and Don Gagnon Memorial Coaches Award,” she said. “I encourage anybody with a passion for playing hockey entering their first year of postsecondary education to apply for this scholarship, as every bit of financial assistance is so beneficial.

Milana is studying Health Science at Ontario Tech University while studying Health Science and playing for the Ridgeback Women’s hockey team.

“Receiving this scholarship was truly an honour. More than often, I think about Don and how proud he would be of my accomplishments, and the many other kids he had coached in the past,” said Milana. “Being a student athlete is definitely a challenge. There were many days where I was overwhelmed by the amount of work and pressure to perform at my best in the classroom and on the ice. This scholarship provided me with financial relief and allowed me to focus more on my school and sport.”

All three 2023 recipients were granted $1,000 scholarships in honour of Kyle and Don.

The award will be granted annually to local students with a passion for hockey who are entering their first year of university or college.

To learn more about the award and other initiatives that honour the legacies of Kyle and Don, click here