The Nurse pedigree continues

GANGNEUNG • Giventhe incredible pedigree among her extended athletic family, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to see Sarah Nurse show up and succeed at any number of venues at these Pyeongchang Winter Games.

That she is a precocious rookie on the Canadian women’s hockey team is turning out to be a solid sporting decision for her, however.

When Nurse made her Olympic debut in Sunday’s 5-0 win over Russia, she joined her cousin and basketball star Kia as Canadian Olympians. But that’s just the tip of the Nurse family tree, a dizzying list of sporting accomplishments that now spans two generations and is connected by her father Roger and two of his siblings.

Start with Roger, who was an outstanding lacrosse player in his day and is active in the Hamilton-area sports scene. Sarah’s brother, Isaac, currently plays for his home-town Bulldogs of the OHL, adding to the hockey prowess in that family.

Her uncle Richard played six seasons for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats and his wife, Cathy, was a standout basketball player at McMaster. One of their kids is Kia Nurse, who was a star at the University of Connecticut while their son, Darnell, was selected in the first round of the 2013 NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers.

Moving along, Roger and Richard’s sister Raquel, who was a basketball star at Syracuse University, is married to former NFL quarterbacking star, Donovan McNabb.

As you might expect, Sarah Nurse had other sporting options growing up, volleyball and basketball among them. But her father helped guide her to the sport that he believed she shone brightest.

After finding herself on Hockey Canada’s radar at an early age, Nurse was heavily recruited by NCAA teams, eventually ending up at perennial powerhouse Wisconsin. She had a big four-year career with the Badgers, scoring 18 goals and 20 assists in her senior season.

The progression from her youth hockey years to now has been impressive to the point many see the 22-yearold as one of Canada’s international stars of the future.

“First off she’s a great person on the ice, just so smart,” said teammate Laura Fortino, who trains with Nurse in Hamilton during the off season. “On the ice she has so much to offer and as the years go on, the more she develops, she’s going to be a great player for this team.”

The best, most suspect, is yet to come from the 5-foot-8, 140-pound left winger.

“At both ends of the ice she’s responsible and has unbelievable skill,” Canadian goaltender Shannon Szabados said. “She’s definitely a player you will notice a lot. Fans are in for a treat.”