Player's Own Voice

Cassie Campbell-Pascall has earned many milestones in Canadian sport. As Captain of Team Canada, she helped deliver some of the sweetest wins in national hockey history. She went on to make broadcast history as the first woman to do colour commentary for Hockey Night in Canada. Her career in the broadcast booth, like her time on the ice, is a story of big wins earned through hard work- and the occasional flash of lumber in the corners as required. Cassie sits down with host Anastasia Bucsis for a sweeping talk about the good ole hockey game, of course, but also about the challenges all women’s team sports face today. In Hockey, as in Soccer and Rugby, Canadian women are competing at the highest levels in the world- and so what are the steps that need to be taken to get their fan base, their money, their infrastructure, their leagues, fully on par with the men? The conversation goes deep into the one topic that is seemingly unavoidable in women’s team sports- which is that legendary, ornery, take-no-prisoners rivalry that fuels Canadian-American tilts. Campbell has a deeply funny but nuanced take on the grudge. It defined her time in the sport, and she admits it still bugs her badly when Americans win, but 13 years out of the game, she can socialise with her former foes now, but still. Ultimately, in a conversation that all athletes can relate to, Campbell-Pascall shares insights about the delicate business of retiring from sport and finding your way in the long second act of working life.

When he started playing wheelchair basketball, they called Patrick Anderson the Michael Jordan of his game. Mid career, that label changed to the Lebron of the wheelchair sport. He's back with the team at the Pan Am games, trying to qualify for the Tokyo Paralympics this July… so do we call him the Kawhi Leonard of his sport now? Host Anastasia Bucsis asks Anderson about the burden of being an inspiration. How to respond to being recognized as the greatest of all time in his sport? As you might expect from a true champion- he deflects that with a great deal of finesse. For one thing- Anderson is not convinced that inspiration isn't a dirty word. With the injuries some paralympians have overcome- he is acutely aware that he risks being applauded just for getting out of bed. The trick for Patrick Anderson is in trying to play the sport like it's an art form. Devising and demonstrating a perfect play, competing at the highest possible level…that's where the athletic and the aesthetic can meet. Getting there is still what keeps Anderson motivated, gold medal after gold medal later. All paralympians have interesting back stories. Patrick Anderson fascinates for a dozen reasons. He's 39 now, playing for the record books again after five years away. His thoughts on returning to the game at its highest level? The challenge is not that he's getting older, it's that the entire sport has become much more competitive, harder, stronger and faster than it was even five years ago. As Anderson sees it, that is an excellent problem to have.

Brooke Henderson is the most successful golfer in Canadian history. She's just 21 years old, but she has already won more majors than any other Canadian- an incredible nine tour victories to her credit since 2016. And despite the overwhelming attention that is always showered on star athletes, she is a remarkably poised and level-headed young woman. Anastasia Bucsis' guest on Player's Own Voice podcast this week attributes her composure to being surrounded by family to an unusual degree. Her dad is her coach, and her sister Brittany (a pro golfer in her own right) has been alongside her as caddy for all her biggest wins.

It's probably not an exaggeration to say that Canada has never had another athlete like Kaillie Humphries. The three time Olympian Bobsledder isn’t just a game-changing competitor, and ground breaking female pilot, she’s also a magnetic presence for fan fascination. Almost every aspect of her career and personal life attracts notice. Kaillie joins Host Anastasia Bucsis to talk about all the things that keep her at the top of sliding sports fans attention. First of all, there’s her relationship with brakeman Heather Moyse. They were not racing together at Pyeong Chang in 2018, but the partnership obviously still occupies a great deal of her introspection time. Kaillie calls brakeman-pilot relations ‘arranged marriages’ a description which works on many levels. Sled mates may be very different types, and love is not essential, but they are yoked together, and bonded in a common purpose. All has not been cool runnings for Humphries post 2018 Olympics, either. She slipped into a significant depression during the off season, which she is really only recently clawing her way out of. Humphries links the down turn to a harassment claim that she has launched against her sport federation. Humphries is always thoughtful about the matter of representation — as a fierce female in a traditionally all masculine sport. Sometimes she lets her tats do the talking, and when all else fails, there’s always, as she says, good old kicking ass and taking numbers on the track.

Some early adversity is clearly a good thing, at least when it comes to Rugby. Ghislaine Landry, who is now the leading point scorer in world series history, was told time and again that she would never play international rugby. 'Too small', the experts told her. So much for the experts. Union and Sevens, Landry is one of the world's most dominant forces on the rugby pitch, compact stature and all. In this week's episode, Ghislaine joins host Anastasia Bucsis to celebrate the rugby player's victories and explores the idea that in sport, nothing comes for free. Beyond the constant demands of training and practise and international competition, how is a member of a centralised team even supposed to see family, let along achieve that mythical life balance? For Landry, it's about finding room for two loves: love of sport and love of family. And the silver lining? Time off is that much sweeter when there is so little of it in a regular season.

A history-creating guest. Midfielder Diana Matheson's stoppage time goal against France at the London Olympics in 2012 gave Canada a bronze medal. She backed that up with a second Olympic bronze at Rio. Matheson has more than 200 Caps with the Canadian National team. Four World Cups. Three Olympics. Team Canada since 2003. She plays professionally for the Utah Royals...and along the way she also picked up an economics degree from Princeton. There's a good news - bad news story in Diana Matheson's 2019 FIFA campaign. The bad news is, a foot injury has sidelined her for the duration of the tournament. The positive spin on that is she's freed up to provide expert colour commentary on the tournament, and help give viewers insights on Team Canada's mindset, throughout the World Cup.

She’s half of Canada’s greatest Ice Dancing duo — the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history — but just because Tessa Virtue is gliding into a dazzling professional career, doesn't mean she has forgotten the highs and lows of Olympic competition. Nowadays, when she and skating partner Scott Moir and the cream of figure skating aren’t performing to packed houses, Tessa has advocacy work and endorsements and campaign partnerships; almost too many to name. Listen as Tessa and host Anastasia Bucsis discuss her greatest Olympic memories, her relationship with Moir, and the future of her ever-changing career.

Very few people can touch Brian Burke’s resume. The Hockey Night analyst was president of Hockey for the Calgary Flames, ran the Leafs, was GM for the Ducks, the Canucks, and Hartford Whalers. He led the U-S men’s team that took home a silver medal from the 2010 Olympics. Brian Burke is also a kind and charitable man with a hellacious temper. On this week’s POV podcast, Brian joins host Anastasia Bucsis to talk about the highs and lows of his career, the importance of advocacy, and his unwavering perseverance.

Figure skating can open a lot of career doors - but becoming a doctor? Olympic figure skater, Joannie Rochette, soon to be Doctor Rochette, says it's an easy fit. All those long, lonely hours of focus and practise set her up perfectly for the long lonely hours of studying in med school. On this week's POV, host Anastasia Bucsis and Joannie look back on the skater's glorious career - 2010 Olympic bronze, World silver medalist, Four Continents silver, Grand Prix Final bronze, six-time Canadian champion, and the moment that had Canadians holding their breath - when Joannie skated in Vancouver 2010, only a couple of days after her mother's fatal heart attack.

At only 15 years old, Alexandre Despatie took his first Olympic dive at the 2000 Games in Sydney. He placed fourth against some of the world's best, but when his excitement was met with media disappointment over a 'missed podium', Alexandre discovered that measuring up to his own standards was the most important thing. The lesson stuck with Alexandre as he went on to win two Olympic silver medals, become a nine time Commonwealth Game champion, and a 37 time Canadian National champion. Listen as he and POV host Anastasia Bucsis discuss avoiding the pitfalls of early success, overcoming disappointment, and knowing when to hang up the towel.

John Fennell has made some tough choices during his career. The Luge athlete is a citizen of both Canada and the United States, and he has competed and trained for both nations. John has unique perspective on the differences between Canadian and American sport culture. He opens up to POV host Anastasia Bucsis about owning his life decisions, and the importance of not letting singular moments of success or failure define a career.

For some athletes, the decision to retire comes fairly quickly - but this was not the case for Benoit Huot. In fact, the famed Paralympic swimmer has been thinking about hanging up his towel for ten years. On this week's Player's Own Voice, Benoit opens up about his long and decorated career in which he won 20 Paralympic medals, was named a Member of the Order of Canada, as well as made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. Listen as he and POV host, Anastasia Bucsis discuss retirement, how Benoit stayed motivated throughout his storied career, and the continuing growth of the Paralympic movement.

It's been 25 years since Mark Tewksbury won gold at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, but the Calgary born swimmer remains at the heart of the Canadian Olympic movement today. His work as a public speaker and writer have inspired countless athletes, and Mark's voice has been a powerful addition to several athletes' causes, including Olympic reform and advocating for the rights of LGBTQ athletes. Listen as he and POV host Anastasia Bucsis discuss advocacy, LGBTQ visibility in sport, and the future of the Olympic movement.

Caroline Ouellette's hockey career is beyond impressive. The Montreal athlete is one of the very few in history to bring home gold medals from four consecutive Olympic games. Caroline's love of the sport extends far beyond her playing years - she coaches and mentors, and runs a network of hockey camps with fellow player Marie-Philip Poulin. Caroline shares her vision for the future of women's hockey with POV host Anastasia Bucsis, and she also describes how it felt to watch her teammates face off against the USA in Pyeong Chang, while sharing a couch with her partner - former team USA player, Julie Chu.

Player's Own Voice began with a simple goal- to interview world class athletes as human first, and athlete second. With the help of our growing base of listeners, this goal has been a resounding success. And as a thank you, we've compiled some of our favourite moments from the show so far, and included a few clips of what's to come in 2019!