Lawyers lace up for YMCA charity hockey tournament

Lawyers do on occasion clash in the courtroom, but on Wednesday they took their competitive spirit to a different kind of arena for the Lawyers for Kids Charity Hockey Tournament held in support of the YMCA of the National Capital Region.

The one-day tournament was held at the Richcraft Sensplex in Gloucester. It involved more than 100 players, most of whom were lawyers. The event raised $35,200 in support of the Y. 

The non-profit organization’s president and CEO, Trevor McAlmont, expressed how impressed he was with everyone’s “passion for hockey, passion for sport and passion for helping the YMCA and all of our youth programs.”

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McAlmont served as honorary coach for one of the teams that day. When asked what the role involved, he explained with a smile: “Pretty much just watching and cheering them on.”

Chairing the organizing committee were Ottawa lawyers Cale Harrison, Brett McGarry and Marc Sauvé, who, as managing partner of David|Sauvé LLP, is a former Forty Under 40 Award recipient and past president of AJEFO (Association of French Speaking Jurists of Ontario). McGarry’s uncle is Richard Moore, one of the founders of the tournament, while his mom is prominent businesswoman Sharon McGarry, president of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry. It was also one of the sponsors.

The hockey tournament honoured the memory of Jim O’Grady, who’d been a long-standing member of the YMCA of the National Capital Region. He passed away suddenly from an aneurysm in 2008, at age 71. It was his friends who started the fundraiser. There was some debate amongst organizers as to how long the tournament has been running. They settled on 15 years.

O’Grady had also been a lawyer in Ottawa for 46 years, practicing at Soloway, Wright, Houston, Greenberg, O’Grady and Morin (now Soloway Wright LLP), as well as at former law firm Burke-Robertson. He’d been considered a “lawyer’s lawyer” by the legal community.

As well, he was a great hockey player and really nice guy, said tournament co-founder Brian Scott. He used to play on the same Oldtimers’ Hockey team as O’Grady, who had a few years on him.

“I was never a hockey player, really,” continued Scott. “I remember once, I was sitting in the dressing room, and he said to me after our game, ‘Brian, you’re playing a lot better’. And I thought, ‘I wasn’t playing any better; that’s ridiculous’, but he was generous, that’s the way he was.”

Scott, who’s an award-winning fundraiser for the local YMCA, is retired now but used to be president of insurance brokerage Smith Petrie Carr & Scott. The firm was acquired in 2018, then merged with Acera Insurance, which was the presenting sponsor of the hockey tournament.

Also present that day were Scott’s fellow co-founders Gerry Myers, lawyer Bob Morrow and Richard Moore, founder of conflict resolution firm MDR Associates. The tournament included former NHL players Rob Murphy, John Barrett and Chris Valentine. They’re part of the Senators Alumni comprised of former Senators players, NHLers and professional hockey players who make Ottawa their home, and who regularly help out worthy causes.

Valentine, who was on the organizing committee,  told OBJ.social he doesn’t go full-force in the charity games. “We just play to the level that we need to play,” he said of trying to keep the experience fun for everyone. Valentine, who played for the Washington Capitals in the early 1980s, is an advisor at OneLife Wealth Management.

The tournament had a founders’ division, for the older players, and competitive division that consisted of law firms Gowling WLG, McMillan, Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG), Soloway Wright, Emond Harnden and Sauvé/Lyttle McGarry Del Greco(LMD).

The final game was between David|Sauvé/LMD and defending champs Gowling WLG Grit, with the latter team winning by a score of 2:1.

“We had a lot of fun,” Corey Willard, a partner at Gowling WLG, said later. The tournament is a good way to get colleagues out while helping local kids in the community, he continued. “During COVID, we realized how lucky we are to have these events where we can gather and socialize.” 

Gowling WLG senior partner Michael Rankin, who only recently joined the firm, got to play alongside his daughter, Katie Rankin, a former varsity hockey player with Penn State and McGill universities. Also playing that day was IP summer law student Stephanie Clancy, whose parents, Paula and Michael, are both partners at the firm.

As well, the team included Inflector Environmental Services senior vice-president and community leader Gord Cudney, who’s a former partner at Gowling WLG.  He’s somewhat of a free agent. Last year, Cudney played with the other guys, David|Sauvé/LMD. “It’s whoever invites me first,” he said good-humouredly of his team swap.

Sauvé, who co-captained his team with McGarry, was a good sport about losing to Gowling WLG in the finals. “For me, it was important that we raise money for the Y, for kids who don’t necessarily have all the opportunities in the world, and to show them that anything is possible, and the community does support them,” he told OBJ.social.  Besides, his team has won the finals in the past.

As for McGarry, who was the goalie, he claimed to be too tired and in too much physical pain to talk about the day. “All I can do is eat pizza and drink beer.”

caroline@obj.ca