Bill Comrie on hand to present first 12 scholarships out of his donation to MacEwan University

MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Twelve MacEwan University hockey players received scholarships of $5,000 each from philanthropist Bill Comrie in a special pre-game ceremony on Saturday Oct. 21 at the Downtown Community Arena.

Comrie generously donated $1.5 million to MacEwan University, endowed funds that will allow 12 hockey scholarships to be presented annually.

"It's an honour for me," he said of presenting the scholarships in a ceremony which took place prior to the Griffins hosting NAIT in ACAC men's hockey action. "I'm lucky enough to be able to do it."

Comrie, who grew up in Edmonton, noted how critical assistance is for young athletes.

"When I grew up, I got a lot of equipment out of lost and found," he said. "So, I helped Sport Central here and started Comrie Sports (Equipment Bank) in Calgary, which gives equipment away. My daughter (Cathy) actually went to MacEwan and she's here tonight. It's a real honour to be able to give back to the program."

The first class of scholarship recipients includes MacEwan women's hockey players Dominique Scheurer, Sandy Heim, Nikki Reimer, Carley Jewell, Shanya Shwetz and Sydney Thomlison, as well as men's hockey players Chris Wray, Brett Njaa, Tyler Mrkonjic, Tyler Morrison, Marc-Olivier Daigle and Ryan Benn.

MacEwan University President Deborah Saucier, Director of Athletics Ken Schildroth and Griffins women's hockey coach Lindsay McAlpine were also present for the ceremony.

"We are so incredibly grateful," said Saucier in a speech addressing Comrie. "Your generous financial gift and scholarship is making it so much easier for our students to play on our hockey teams and pursue excellence both on the ice and in the classroom. Thank you so very much. We truly appreciate it."

Griffins women's captain Thomlison emcee'd the pre-game proceedings and also opened with a speech.

"Mr. Comrie, tonight is the night we are able to demonstrate your impact," she said. "On behalf of all Griffins players and coaches, welcome to the Downtown Community Arena, and thank you, as your support is one of the reasons we've seen so many successes."

Men's captain Ryan Benn acknowledged how important the moment was with Comrie presenting the scholarships in person.

"It was incredible," Benn said after the game. "It was nice to be able to thank him personally again. That always feels good. It's incredible what he's done for the university and the program. It will strengthen our program going forward."

Benn also observed how important the scholarships are to the entire team.

"I'm sure he has some idea, but it really goes a long way for us students, just to take some stress off with the little income that we get. We're not able to work," said Benn. "I know only some guys get it, but it does benefit the whole team because there's more scholarship money to go around, period."

Tyler Morrison echoed those comments.

"It's awesome. It shows you how generous of a man he is and how much he supports the hockey community here in Edmonton," he said. "Just to shake his hand and be able to say thanks to him – it was a really cool experience."

In honour of his gift to the university, a bust of Comrie has been placed in the entryway to the Christenson Family Centre for Sport and Wellness, and a new high-performance training facility in the centre has been named the Bill Comrie High Performance Training Zone.

Griffins men's hockey players Tyler Morrison, left, Chris Wray, Marc-Olivier Daigle, Tyler Mrkonjic, Ryan Benn and Brett Njaa pose with philanthropist Bill Comrie after receiving their scholarships on Saturday night (Len Joudrey photo).

THE SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

Ryan Benn, Fifth-year, Science

The captain of the Griffins the past two seasons kicked off his ACAC career by being named the 2013-14 ACAC rookie of the year. Since then, he has become the all-time points leader in program history and was a finalist for MacEwan's male athlete of the year award in 2016-17.

The hardest-working player on the ice, Benn sets an example both offensively and defensively and is a mature leader for the Griffins. Benn, who volunteers with Junior Griffins is an ambassador for MacEwan University and a positive role model in the aboriginal community through hockey.

Chris Wray, Fifth-year, Arts

The fifth-year goaltender has had a storied career with the Griffins, holding the program record for most wins in a regular season (15 in 2014-15) and best goals against average in a playoff season (2.03 in 2015-16).

In his career, he's won the MacEwan Pro-Am Golf Classic Athletic Leadership Award, the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation Hockey Program award and has served diligently as a member of the Griffins' Student Athlete Council. He has also helped organize the team's Movember campaign, helps with Junior Griffins camps and is a recipient of the BC MacEwan Officers Leadership Award

Tyler Morrison, Second-year, Commerce

The smooth-skating defenceman's exploits on the ice and in the classroom have already been well-documented, even though he has just played one season with the Griffins. Morrison was named the 2016-17 ACAC Academic Player of the Year, while also winning the 2016-17 ACAC rookie of the year honours while being named to the conference's first all-star team.

In the community, Morrison has served as a mentor for Big Brothers and Big Sisters and has also volunteered with the Edmonton Minor Hockey Association.

Tyler Mrkonjic, First-year, Arts

Prior to entering the ACAC with the Griffins this season, Mrkonjic logged the most Major Junior games of any MacEwan hockey recruit to date, playing 289 Western Hockey League games between Prince George and Calgary. To date, he has won the John Reid Memorial Award and the Prince George Cougars' Michael Fogolin award for the player that best exemplifies a Cougar on and off the ice.

He also participated in the WHL's feeding the homeless program, reading week and has helped out with St. Albert Minor Hockey schools and coaching spring hockey. Mrkonjic is described as a recruit with low ego and high output who consistently puts the team first.

Brett Njaa, Third-year, Commerce

Njaa has led the Griffins in scoring for each of his first two seasons in the ACAC. His 2016-17 campaign ended in dramatic fashion as he scored the overtime-winning goal in both Games 1 and 3 of the championship final, his latter tally delivering MacEwan its first men's hockey championship since 2004. He was named the 2016-17 ACAC playoff MVP and was also selected to the ACAC second all-star team.

In the community, Njaa volunteered at the Tour of Alberta in 2015 and 2016, has participated in the Movember campaign the past three years and also volunteers at the food bank during the summer in their greenhouse, cleaning the compost machines.

Marc-Olivier Daigle, Third-year, Arts

En route to one of the top seasons a goaltender has had in program history in 2016-17, Daigle posted the longest shutout streak in Griffins history: 143 minutes and 20 seconds. He was named an ACAC second team all-star and went on to backstop the Griffins to an ACAC championship.

Last month, he combined with goalie Nathan Park on a MacEwan-NAIT all-star team to shut out the Edmonton Oilers' rookies.

Daigle has always been focused on giving back and has served as a volunteer with Hockey Alberta's development camps as well as helping out Edmonton Minor Hockey Association as a goalie coach.

Shanya Shwetz, Fifth-year, Science

The assistant captain of the Griffins women's team, Shwetz finished second in 2016-17 ACAC playoff scoring and was a major reason why MacEwan captured its first ACAC championship since 2008.

Her leadership has also extended off the ice. She served as the Co-Chair of MacEwan's Student Athlete Council – a group she has been a part of for four years – and was one of the emcees of the 2017 Griffins Athletics banquet. She was named a Hockey Alberta Future Leader in 2017, served as a co-coach of Grow Girls Hockey Edmonton, is a "No Place Here" advocate (MacEwan against sexual assault) and has volunteered at Boyle Street, Mission Hope and the Mustard Seed. Additionally, Shwetz also coached the Smoky Lake initiation hockey team from 2008 to 2013.

Dominique Scheurer, Fourth-year, Correctional Services

The multi-talented Swiss athlete made the ACAC first all-star team in 2015-16 as a defenceman then proceeded to crack the ACAC second all-star team in 2016-17 as … a forward. Scheurer's talent on the ice has translated to international success, as well, as she was a member of Switzerland's U18 women's world championship teams in both 2012 and 2013, winning a silver medal in the latter year of competition. She remains on the radar for the Swiss national team program and is also involved with her home country's inline hockey program.

Off the ice, Scheurer is involved with Grow Girls Hockey, the Salvation Army's kettle campaign, Read-In Week and Boyle Street meal service.

Carley Jewell, Third-year, Science

Entering MacEwan as a top recruit out of Manitoba where she was named to Hockey Manitoba's Top 40 list and received that organization's Trudy Galloway Memorial Bursary, Jewell has grown into a critical role on the Griffins' blueline. Jewell scored the tying goal that send the deciding game of the 2017 ACAC championship final into overtime, where the Griffins eventually won.

Off the ice, she has been involved with Grow Girls Hockey, the Salvation Army's kettle campaign, Boyle Street, Read-In Week and served as a Women's World Hockey Day bench coach.

Nikki Reimer, Fourth-year, Science

Reimer became the first women's hockey player in MacEwan history to transfer in from the CIS when she joined the Griffins out of the University of Alberta in 2016. Reimer proceeded to become one of the ACAC's best defencemen and was named to the conference's first all-star team in 2016-17.

She will wear a letter as an assistant captain in her second season with the Griffins in 2017-18.

In the community, Reimer has helped out with Grow Girls Hockey, the Salvation Army, the Pandas Hockey Esso Fun Day, Children's Choice Nursery School, and sorted and delivered Christmas hampers through a leadership program in high school in Winnipeg.

Sandy Heim, Second-year, Accounting and Strategic Measurements

MacEwan's female athlete of the year in 2016-17, Heim's season was truly magnificent. She was named ACAC MVP and made the first all-star team for the second consecutive season. In leading the Griffins to their first ACAC Championship since 2008, she set a conference shutout streak record that will probably never be touched, blanking the opposition for 287 minutes and 40 seconds.

The international student from Switzerland with English as a second language has also excelled in the classroom and in the community, where she's helped with Grow Girls Hockey, the Salvation Army, Boyle Street and Read-In Week.

Sydney Thomlison, Fifth-year, Commerce

Exemplifying the three pillars of what it takes to be a student-athlete at MacEwan, Thomlison is a powerful on-ice leader as the team captain, is diligent in the classroom – making the Dean's list in 2016-17 – and is a huge contributor to the women's hockey team's community service program.

Thomlison has spent two season as Griffins captain and two as an assistant captain, leading a group that won both an ACAC Championship and the Murray Orvis MacEwan Team of the Year award.

She has participated in the "Griffs do good deeds" program for the past four years, which involves a weekly task or volunteer opportunity within the athletic community. Examples include collecting shampoo and personal hygiene products to donate to the homeless, reading to Edmonton school students, preparing meals at Boyle Street and helping with Grow Girls Hockey.