Wayne Russell – Builder

Inducted  2013

Bay Roberts builder Wayne Russell has had a remarkable career utilizing great expertise, clear understanding, solid devotion and a willingness to work long and hard to earn extremely valuable respect and admiration with the Canadian, especially Newfoundland and Labrador, athletic community. Beginning from his time as a minor softball coach to his service as a major contributor to the Canadian Olympic Association, Wayne Russell has been a credit to sport, his province, and especially to himself. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Wayne spent time in Labrador City where he coached minor hockey teams of all levels that competed in provincial championships, tournaments in Quebec including the international pewee tournament held in Quebec City. In 1986 Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador approached Wayne to chair its Hockey Development Council and sit as its representative on the development council of Hockey Canada. Wayne’s National and International Contributions to sport began in 1990 when hockey Canada asked him to chair its Council. In 1995 he was elected to Hockey Canada Council and went on to serve as Executive Vice-Chair in 1997 and Chair for two years beginning in 1999. Wayne was Canada’s representative at meetings in Spain that resulted in NHL players performing at the 2002 Olympics. He also played a role in the selection of Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Lowe and Pat Quinn to lead Canada’s Men’s hockey team at the 2002 Olympic Games. In 2001 he joined the Board of the Canadian Olympic Committee and in 2005 he was elected as Treasurer, a position he still holds today. In 2003, he chaired the caucus for Canadian Olympic Winter Sports. In this position he assisted with the creation of “Own The Podium” and served as both its first Chair and first CEO. During his time as Chair, the committee was successful in raising $110 million so that “Own the Podium” could assist our athletes in preparing for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Wayne also brought focus to the Canadian women’s program and the National Women’s Team. In 2007 he accepted a request from the Ottawa Senators to help their organization with a bid to host the World Junior Hockey Championship. The bid was successful and the World Juniors came to Ottawa in 2009. Wayne represented hockey on the board of the Canadian Olympic Association and was the leader for the Canadian Hockey Delegation to the 2000 “Open Ice Forum” that examined the state of hockey in Canada. He was involved with merging the original Hockey Canada with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to create the current Hockey Canada. During his time as an official with Hockey Canada, he led the Canadian delegation to several international meetings, including talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation, NHL and the NHL Players Association, which concluded the agreement under which NHL players now compete in the Olympics. Provincially and locally Wayne has received a number of honors because of his involvement in sport. These honors include a Life membership in Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador, a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame, he was the first recipient of the Joe Bryne Award for Hockey Development and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. The great respect that he has earned at every level of his athletic community involvement is demonstrated by the importance of the positions to which he has been elected and appointed. His outstanding performances in a wide range of positions, of varying levels of value, are certainly acknowledged by the responsibilities, which have been entrusted to him.