Amplifying Voices: York Lions Lucas Eagle
The OUA Amplifying Voices Series will share the stories, the efforts, and the impacts of the OUA's champions of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), from those who have earned conference awards within their respective sport to those who continue to make a difference within their team, their campus, and their community.
Burlington, Ont. (David DiCenzo) - New experiences have always been important to Lucas Eagle. The towering York Lions defenceman from Edmonton, Alberta was a junior player for the Waywayseecappo Wolverines of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League when he first thought about moving up to play at the university level.
York head coach Russ Herrington reached out to discuss joining the program – and Eagle embraced the opportunity.
“I was either going to go back to Alberta and play for a team there or venture out and try something new,” says Eagle, a third-year psychology student and recipient of the OUA Champion of EDI Award. “I thought moving to Toronto would be a pretty cool experience. I was living in Manitoba on a sheep farm, so I wanted to branch out and gain some independence, while playing at a high level.
“My parents liked the idea, so I came to York.”
At 6-6 240, Eagle is hard to miss on the ice. But he’s also been extremely visible in his adopted home with his involvement in the community. This past season, Eagle got the chance to help organize and play in York’s inaugural Honouring Culture: Indigenous Youth in Hockey Game.
The idea was hatched by Eagle and York’s Centre for Indigenous Student Services to celebrate Indigenous youth involvement in the game. Eagle was introduced to York football player Brandon Davies-Lyons, an Indigenous student-athlete and started discussing ideas on how to represent their community. He eventually brought the idea to CISS to put on a special game.
“They were super on board and really wanted to do it,” Eagle says of the historic home game against the Guelph Gryphons on February 7th at Canlan Ice Sports. “CISS reached out to our coach and the directors, figuring out how we could get it done.
“It was such a cool experience to be a part of. I had a brief talk with our visiting elder Alan, who did a drum song in the pre-game ceremony. And there were a lot of fans from the Indigenous community that came out.
“It was overwhelming. I went out there and did the puck drop, which was my first time doing that, with the whole school population watching. I was honoured to do it and happy to be a representative for the game. We unfortunately lost, but it was so nice to have that experience, celebrating the culture and all of the people behind the scenes who put it in the effort to organize the event.”
Eagle was particularly proud that so many Indigenous kids had the chance to attend.
“I know that when I was younger, I looked up to Indigenous hockey players, guys like Ethan Bear,” he says. “You see that person and realize ‘I can do that, too.’ I was thankful for the opportunity.”
Eagle credits his parents for showing him and the path to becoming a leader. His dad Greg is Metis and mom Heather Noon is from the Thunderchild First Nation, with both born in Saskatchewan before moving to Alberta. Heather lived on the reserve in Saskatchewan, where life could get rough. Both are RCMP officers.
Eagle was about three when Greg first put him on the ice. Skating came easy and he picked up the game quickly. By the start of high school in the Edmonton suburb of Sherwood Park, Eagle wanted to test himself against better competition.
“I didn’t even know what AA or AAA was, but I would see these kids with jackets, and I thought, ‘I want one of those,’” says Eagle. “I was a natural competitor, and I liked to get better at different things to challenge myself. I liked skateboarding and you always had to learn how to do new tricks. It was the same in hockey. I had the qualities to push myself.”
The game eventually took him all over Canada to tournaments in Halifax, Whitehorse, and throughout Saskatchewan. In 2018 and 2019, he proudly represented Team Alberta at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships.
“My parents were there for me and always gave my brothers (Jaimen Noon, Kai Shurko, and Carson Eagle) and I support,” says Eagle. “They let me go through certain things and not quit, even though it was always an option.
“If hockey wasn’t going well and I wanted to stop playing, I could. But they would say, ‘You’re doing something else.’ So, it was about pushing through and learning a lesson.”
Eagle knows there are new experiences ahead for him. He’s preparing for his fourth and likely final year on the Lions’ blueline and wants to savour that final season of university hockey with his teammates.
Beyond that, he has a plan.
Eagle would love to travel the world and have the privilege of playing more hockey. He also wants to follow in his parents’ footsteps and become an officer with the RCMP.
“When someone does well for themselves, it’s celebrated in the Indigenous community,” says Eagle. “But to get to that, you need experiences and adversities, whether it’s in hockey or in life.”
