Top 8 Academic All-Canadians CIS recipients honoured
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presented the Governor General’s Academic All-Canadian Commendation to Adrian Robertson and Cedric McNicoll for the 2013-2014 season during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, on Monday, November 17, 2014.
Credit: MCpl Vincent Carbonneau, Rideau Hall, OSGG
Thursday November 20, 2014
OTTAWA (CIS) – The Canadian Interuniversity Sport student-athletes announced last month (Oct. 14) as Top Eight Academic All-Canadians for the 2013-2014 season were honoured in Ottawa, on Monday morning.
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presented the second Governor General’s Academic All-Canadian Commendation to the eight recipients, during a ceremony at Rideau Hall.
Every year, a growing number of CIS student-athletes are recognized as Academic All-Canadians, having maintained an average of 80 per cent or better over the academic year while competing for one – or more – of their university’s varsity teams.
In 2013-14, a record 2,861 students achieved the prestigious status, eclipsing the previous mark of 2,695 set a year ago.
Among these outstanding individuals, one female and one male student-athlete from each of the four CIS regional associations are selected annually to make up the Top Eight including Canadian Hockey League alumni Adrian Robertson and Cedric McNicoll.
“The record number of Academic All-Canadians once again this year speaks volume about the quality of our student-athletes, but also our coaches, support staff and our universities,” said CIS chief executive officer, Pierre Lafontaine. “The Top Eight represents the very best of what university sport is all about. To be selected among 11,500 of their peers is an achievement these exceptional student-athletes should be extremely proud of.”
Name: Adrian Robertson
Hometown: Mississauga, Ont.
School: University of New Brunswick
Faculty: Business Administration
Program: Business Administration
Sport: Hockey
Eligibility in 2013-14: 2nd year
Adrian Robertson, who hails from Mississauga, Ont., joined the Varsity Reds in the fall of 2012 following a five-year career in the Ontario Hockey League with Peterborough, Windsor and Sarnia. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound rearguard had an immediate impact as a freshman as he helped the V-Reds capture the University Cup national championship. In his sophomore season last year, he received the Michael Cavanagh Memorial Award in recognition of his excellence on and off the ice.
In the classroom, the two-time CIS Academic All-Canadian has a cumulative GPA of 4.2 after two years in UNB’s business administration program, including five perfect A+ grades in the winter of 2014. In addition to the Cavanagh Award, the list of academic awards he has accumulated since he arrived on the Fredericton campus includes the George & Elaine Andrews Memorial Scholarship in Athletics, the John F. Bassett Memorial Scholarship and the Helen Neill Campbell Merit Award.
While at UNB, Robertson has been a volunteer coach with the V-Reds Prospects camps, working with young hockey players between the ages of 6 and 14. He had previously volunteered with the Windsor Spitfires Foundation in his OHL days and, more recently, worked with the RBC Blue Water Project in Toronto.
“Adrian was a high-performance achiever and top quality leader for our hockey program both on and off the ice last season,” says UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall. “He was our team leader in academics with a 4.2 GPA and was one of our top defencemen, winning the prestigious UNB Michael Cavanagh Award which recognizes top performance on the ice, in the classroom and in the community.”
Name: Cédric McNicoll
Hometown: Boucherville, Que.
School: McGill University
Faculty: Management
Program: Accounting
Sport: Hockey
Eligibility in 2013-14: 4th year
Cédric McNicoll, a native of Boucherville, Que., made his debut with the Redmen a year ago after three seasons at the professional level in the American Hockey League and the East Coast Hockey League, which followed a stellar junior career that saw him average over one point per game in the QMJHL. The 5-foot-10, 174-pound centre excelled in his first season with McGill earning OUA all-conference honours and finishing second on the team in scoring with 15-25-35 in only 23 contests. He then claimed the OUA playoff scoring title with 16 points in eight games and guided the Redmen to an appearance in the University Cup national tournament.
McNicoll, who enrolled at McGill in the fall of 2012 but was redshirted in his first year after coming back from the pros, merited CIS Academic All-Canadian status in his management program, where he is majoring in accounting. He was the 2014 recipient of the Guy Lafleur Award of Excellence as the Quebec university player who best combines hockey excellence with academic success and citizenship.
In the community, he has volunteered for numerous school and hospital visits during his time in the QMJHL, the ECHL and AHL, and now at McGill.
“Cédric was a key contributor to our success last season. He is dynamic offensively and plays well in all three zones,” says McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. “He is a great leader for our team as he is very serious and conscientious with regards to his approach to games and practices. His work habits are outstanding. Not only is he an elite player, he is also an elite student as evidenced by his GPA in the demanding faculty of management.”
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
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