Former Rangers captain recognized with U SPORTS Award
U SPORTS announced Wednesday that Kitchener Rangers graduate Liam Maaskant of the Acadia Axemen has won the Dr. Randy Gregg Award for Student-Athlete Community Service.
In addition three other OHL graduates have been named to 2019-20 U SPORTS All-Canadian Teams.
A fifth-year engineering student from Clinton, Ont., Maaskant has served as captain of the Axemen for two consecutive seasons. He played in 28 games this season, anchoring the Acadia defence and scoring 15 points (4-11–15).
???Congratulations??? to @axemenhockey #Axeman Liam Maaskant who was named as the @USPORTS_Hockey Randy Gregg Award for Community Service.
.#AcadiaProud #GoAcadiaGo #Road2UCup pic.twitter.com/1gTDCSKMm6— Acadia Athletics (@AcadiaAthletics) March 11, 2020
In the classroom, Maaskant is a three-time academic all-Canadian. Despite the heavy demands of being a student and a varsity athlete, he also contributes in the university and wider Wolfville communities, volunteering in a number of capacities.
He serves as the co-president of the Acadia Players’ Association and is actively involved with the S.M.I.L.E. program (Sensory Motor Instructional Learning Experience) as a leader and program buddy. Maaskant has volunteered his time to a number of fundraising and minor hockey events, including Acadia’s Hearts on Ice which raises money for the Valley Cardiac Rehab Society and the Hannah Miller Memorial Tournament, which gives back to the local hockey community.
Maaskant is the first member of the Axemen to win the award.
The 26-year-old played four OHL seasons between Erie, Barrie and Kitchener from 2011-15, recording 31 points (10-21–31) over 192 career regular season games.
U SPORTS All-Canadian and All-Rookie Teams
U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadians:
F – Chris Paquette, Royal Military College Paladins (Peterborough Petes, 2019)
D – Owen Headrick, UPEI Panthers (Erie Otters, 2018)
U SPORTS All-Rookie Team:
F – Chris Paquette, Royal Military College Paladins (Peterborough Petes, 2019)
D – Jordan Sambrook, Brock Badgers (Soo Greyhounds, 2019)
