
The newest members of the Order of Canada for 2024 were announced on Thursday, and two Canadians were honoured. They were former National Hockey League defenseman Jim Kyle of Ottawa, Ontario, and former Commonwealth Sport Canada President Judy Kent of Lethbridge, Alberta.
Kyte is known as being the first deaf player in NHL history. He played 13 seasons in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks. Kyte was with the Jets from 1982 to 1989, the Penguins from 1989 to 1990, the Flames from 1990 to 1992, the Senators from 1992 to 1993, and the Sharks from 1994 to 1996.
In 598 NHL regular season games, Kyte had 17 goals and 49 assists for 66 points. He was a -91 with 1342 penalty minutes, two game-winning goals, two power-play points, three shorthanded points, and 356 shots on goal.
Kyte’s first game-winning goal came on November 4, 1986 in a 6-3 Jets win over the Quebec Nordiques. Kyte put the Jets up 4-3 at 6:11 of the third period from Andrew McBain of Scarborough, Ontario, and Doug Smail of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on an all-Canadian goal. Kyte’s second game-winning goal came on April 12, 1995 in a 3-2 Sharks win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Kyte broke a 2-2 tie from Craig Janney and Chris Tancill.
Kyte’s power-play points came in two Sharks wins. The first came on April 9, 1995 in a 5-2 Sharks win over the Edmonton Oilers. Kyte assisted on a goal by Janney at 6:10 of the first period which put the Sharks up 2-0 at the time. The second came on April 26, 1995 in a 5-2 Sharks win over the Anaheim Ducks. Kyte set up defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh to close out the scoring at 14:39 of the third period. Janney got the other assist.
In addition to being the president of Commonwealth Sport Canada, Kent was the first female Chef de Mission for Canada at the Commonwealth Games. She held the role at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. Kent has also done significant research work with the international development of sport. In 2021, she was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame as a builder.