This Apps didn’t fall far from the familytree
SUPERSIZED TALENT Making a name for herself in 2006 with Team Canada
SASKATOON • At six feet tall and 177 pounds, Gillian Apps is almost exactly the same size as her grandfather was when he starred with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1930s and ’ 40s.
And when it comes to talent, the supersized Team Canada forward doesn’t fall far from the family tree. If you don’t know her now, you will in February when she skates for Canada at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
She’s making a name for herself and adding a new chapter to the Apps family’s legacy in hockey. Grandfather Syl Apps won three Stanley Cups with the Leafs and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Her father, Syl Apps Jr., was the Pittsburgh Penguins’ career assists leader until Mario Lemieux came along. Her older brother — yes, his name is Syl Apps, too — starred at Princeton University before enjoying a minor-pro career.
“I was able to talk to my grandfather and my dad and my brother about hockey and get a wise word back from them,” says the latest Apps. “But I was in a no-pressure situation.”
The 21-year-old native of Unionville, Ont., says her parents are her biggest fans and the family name isn’t a burden. “ It’s something that I’m proud to be a part of,” she says.
Apps was just 17 when she was a late cut from the team that won gold at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. She won’t be left behind this time.
“ These young kids coming up are way better than we were at that age,” says Cassie Campbell, Canada’s 31-year-old captain. “ They’re chomping at the bit to take the game to the next level and that’s important for the program.”
“ The other day in practice,” says Campbell, “I was telling her: ‘ Gillian, when you go to net there’s no one who can stop you. When you put your mind to it and combine that with your shot, no one can stop you.’ ”
Wally Kozak, head scout for the women’s program, says Apps’ all- around game is fast and furious.
“She has an uncanny knack of getting open for stretch passes. She probably has more breakaways than anyone on the team. She’s tremendously physical and she probably has to find an acceptable level of contact.”
Apps and Cherie Piper, who are teammates at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, first teamed with Hayley Wickenheiser last month when Canada won the Four Nations Cup in Finland. They are the perfect complement for the world’s best female player, says Kozak.
“ You need very fast people to play with [ Wickenheiser]. Apps is very fast and it allows everybody on that line to get the best of what they bring.”
“We don’t have bodychecking,” says Piper, “but you’re still throwing picks and creating space and time for your linemates. That’s something Gillian does really well. She’ll step in the way of a player and give us more time to create offence. Even after that, she’ll roll off and give us another option on a pass.”
Life in traffic isn’t always easy, but that’s the only way Apps knows how to play.
“That’s hockey to me,” she says. “ To fight off someone, get to the net and battle in front for the puck, that’s what I love about the game.”