WHL alumnus Gatenby honoured with U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian nod

Former Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers defenceman Joe Gatenby has been named a U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian for the 2020-21 season.

The product of Kelowna, B.C. was one of eight student-athletes nominated for their excellence both on and off the field of play.

Gatenby, a defenceman with the UNB Reds men’s hockey team and a student in UNB’s Faculty of Management, is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with honours, in Finance.

Sporting a cumulative 4.3 GPA, he’s a three-time Academic All-Canadian and on track to achieve that status for a fourth straight school year.

On the ice, Gatenby was most recently named a Second-Team AUS All-Star for the 2021-22 season and received the Don Wells Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player in the AUS Conference.

Prior to enrolling at UNB, Joe played five seasons in the Western Hockey League with Kamloops and Kelowna. In three of those seasons, he served as an alternate captain and was named his team’s top defenceman. In 2015, Joe was part of Kelowna’s WHL Championship winning team. That same season, he was the WHL’s Western Conference Scholastic Player of the Year.

He’s attended prospect and rookie camps with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, Buffalo Sabres, and Chicago Blackhawks. In 2018, he played professionally with the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL.

On top of his academic and hockey commitments, Joe is an avid volunteer. He’s given countless hours to community organizations in Fredericton, Kamloops, and his hometown of Kelowna.

“Joe has the ultimate high-performance mindset. He’s one of our senior captains and leads with his consistently high level of play and work ethic on the ice. In the classroom, he’ll graduate as the ultimate high achiever, with a perfect 4.3 GPA,” said Gardner MacDougall, Head Coach of the UNB Reds man’s hockey team. “In the community, he’s certainly made a difference in the lives of many people with his volunteering, for a number of different organizations, and the many school visits he’s made. He’s an All-Star on the ice, in school, and in our community.”

Gatenby is the ninth WHL alumnus to earn a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian honour since the 1993-94 academic year.

WHL ALUMNI – U SPORTS ALL-TIME TOP 8 ACADEMIC ALL-CANADIANS
2020-21 – Joe Gatenby, University of New Brunswick
2014-15 – Cole Grbavac, St. Francis Xavier University
2011-12 – Kyle Ross, University of Saskatchewan
2008-09 – Kyle Ross, University of Regina
2006-07 – Jay Langager, University of Lethbridge
2006-07 – Colin Sinclair, University of New Brunswick
2004-05 – Paul Deniset, University of Manitoba
2004-05 – Tyler Dyck, St. Francis Xavier University
2002-03 – Blair St. Martin, University of Alberta
2001-02 – Jeff Zorn, University of Alberta

The Governor General’s Academic All-Canadian Commendation was founded by the Right Honourable David Johnston, former Governor General of Canada, who first honoured Canada’s Top 8 student-athletes in 2013.

U SPORTS student-athletes achieve Academic All-Canadian status having maintained an average of 80 percent or better over the academic year while competing for one – or more – of their university’s varsity teams.

Among these outstanding individuals, one female and one male student-athlete from each of the four U SPORTS conferences are selected annually to make up the Top 8.

“The number of Academic All-Canadians continues to grow each year,” said Dick White, Interim CEO of U SPORTS “The growing list of Academic All-Canadians is a testament to the virtues of U SPORTS, our conferences and member institutions as well as the dedication of our student-athletes in classrooms and communities across the nation.”