Simply making it to the pinnacle of your sport is an accomplishment, but to maintain that level of excellence for the length of time that Greg Westlake has, as a Paralympic ice hockey player, is a feat that very few athletes can even dream of.
Since making his national team debut at 17, the list of accomplishments for the Thomas A. Blakelock High School grad has grown almost without end and are far too numerous to begin listing off here-and-now, but incredibly he’ll be competing in his fifth Paralympic Games starting on March 4, 2022.
Greg won Bronze in Sochi, Silver in Pyongchang, and Gold at his first games in Torino. The only time he didn’t medal was at the 2010 games in Vancouver, where he was the tournament’s leading scorer and was named top forward, tallying 11 points in five games.
He laughed when OakvilleNews.org asked if this would be his last tournament? "This is it! This is it for sure!" he chuckled, "I’ve had the best time of my life just traveling the world, and you know, just wearing the Maple Leaf on my jersey."
Much like in any other aspect of life, all good things must come to an end, and Greg is at peace with this being the culmination of his playing career, beaming "it’s kinda fun having this kind of finality" and going on to say "when I was in Pyongchang it was kind of questionable, you know I might retire, I might come back, I wasn’t really sure, and right now it’s kind of nice to go into these games and know this is it."
At 36 years old, it’s no small task to maintain the level of fitness required to compete at the highest level, but he believes he is fully prepared for what is at hand.
"I’ve put in a lot of hard work. I feel like I’m in great shape right now. I feel ready to have good games, so I’m excited just to go, and honestly, for the first time kind of ever with no pressure, you know, just go and do it for the last time, and do that thing that I love to do."
Hockey is a team sport, and the reality is that Greg won’t do things on his own. He believes that the squad "might surprise some people," the group’s mix of youth and experience will look to build on the groundwork laid at the previous Paralympic tournament.
Canada finished runners up when South Korea hosted in 2018, and Greg laments over how the game was lost in the last 30 seconds, "it’s hard to say "gold-medal-performance" - when you don’t win gold, but that was as close as you can get without winning."
With the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 and all of its mandates and restrictions, his team has been allowed to "work in the shadows, and work in silence." It instills in him a sense of optimism: "I’m excited. I’m excited to see some guys see the fruits of their labour come out and get what they deserve."
Greg is a legend in his sport, but the former Canadian captain is so much more than that, advocating for the disabled and inspiring youngsters. Despite their personal circumstances, they may not even know what they can accomplish.
When Greg started playing hockey, the landscape was very different from what it is today. It brings him a lot of joy when he talks about where things are, and where they are heading,
"I didn’t know that Hockey Canada would end up picking it up, and taking it over, and taking it to the place where it’s at today. When I see it now, and the notoriety and the position that it’s in, it makes me happy to see that kids are going to have the opportunity to play for Canada for a long, long time."
Once this chapter ends, a new one will begin, and Greg is hoping to continue giving back to the game that has given him so much and wants to take things a step further by breaking new barriers.
"One thing I advocate for is that there need to be more opportunities for people with disabilities and Paralympians in mainstream sport, not just Olympic sport, so you know I’ll be knocking on that door," he says. "I’ll be looking for opportunities, and we’ll see what happens. You know, I love hockey and it’s a thing I love to do. I think it’s one of the things I’m best at in the world; you hopefully know something comes from that."
Retirement is still a few weeks away, and in the meantime, he’s looking to finish things off with a bang while enjoying the journey.
"I’m just having fun playing right now; I would love the opportunity to play in one more Gold medal game."
Greg and the rest of his teammates will be taking the ice for their first game in China on March 5, against arch-rivals USA, at the Beijing National Indoor Stadium. The puck drops at 12:05 a.m. ET.