Patrice Dagenais

Started: He took up the sport in 2005. (cwsa.ca, 27 Sep 2009) Reason: He was introduced to the sport while undergoing rehabilitation in Ottawa, ON, Canada. He had previously played ice hockey. "I discovered wheelchair rugby after watching the movie 'Murderball', which is a great showcase for our sport. I saw that these guys were serious athletes, they were in shape and a goal of mine was always to compete at the highest level. It was a contact sport and one of the things I liked the most in hockey was the contact." (paralympic.ca, 21 Aug 2021; ose.utsc.utoronto.ca, 14 Jul 2011) Milestones: He is one of five players [along with Trevor Hirschfield, Zak Madell, Travis Murao and Mike Whitehead] named to Canada's 2024 Paralympic team that were also part of the silver medal-winning team at the 2012 Games in London. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: He received the wheelchair rugby award at the 2022 Ottawa Sports Awards in Canada. (ottawasportsawards.ca, 03 Jan 2023) He was named Most Valuable Player [MVP] while playing for the Ontario Thunder at the 2019 Vancouver Invitational Tournament in British Columbia, Canada. (wcrugby.com, 10 Mar 2019) He was named 2006 Rookie of the Year by the Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association in Canada. (cwsa.ca, 27 Sep 2009) He has a park named in his honour in Embrun, ON, Canada. (paralympic.ca, Sep 2016) Additional Info: OTHER ACTIVITIES He has served as chair of the Domestic Programs Committee at Wheelchair Rugby Canada and as chair of the Canadian National Championships Organising Committee. He has also been a co-owner of the Canadian ice hockey club Ottawa Jr. Senators, of which his brother Martin has served as majority owner, general manager and coach. (ottawasportsawards.ca, 03 Jan 2023; ici.radio-canada.ca, 15 Sep 2016) COACHING He has served as a wheelchair rugby coach for the Ontario provincial team and for the Ottawa Stingers club team in Canada. He has also been president of the Ottawa Stingers club. (Wheelchair Rugby Canada Facebook page, 10 Mar 2024; ottawasportsawards.ca, 03 Jan 2023; onpara.ca, 20 Apr 2022)