Everett Sanipass (born February 13, 1968) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Sanipass was born in

Elsipogtog First Nation The Elsipogtog First Nation , formerly called the Big Cove Band, is a Miꞌkmaq First Nations band government in New Brunswick, Canada. The First Nation's territory comprises Richibucto Reserve #15, lying southwest of Rexton, New Brunswick on ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. Sanipass is the first Native Canadian to be inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.

Playing career

Sanipass began his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

career with the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

in 1987 after being drafted 14th overall in the

1986 NHL Entry Draft The 1986 NHL Entry Draft was the 24th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 21, 1986, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the revers ...

. His indigenous heritage as a

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

caused him to face racism early in his hockey career since he was prohibited from playing on off-reserve teams. Sanipass was the first native draft pick out of New Brunswick. His tally of forty-three goals and twenty-six assists in only thirty-seven games while playing in the New Brunswick Amateur Hockey Association drawing considerable attention. Sanipass spent 2 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

. In 1987, Sanipass was a member of the Canadian U20 Team. Sanipass became famous for his role in the 1987

World Junior Hockey Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

brawl (

Punch-up in Piestany The Punch-up in Piestany was a bench-clearing brawl between Canada and the Soviet Union during the final game of the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Piešťany, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) on January 4, 1987. The incident result ...

) that took place between Canada and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Both teams left the bench, prompting the referees, who were unable to stop the fighting, to leave the ice surface for their own safety. Officials even tried to turn off the lights with the hopes of causing the players to be so concerned with their own safety that they would stop fighting. Both teams were ultimately kicked out of the tournament for their unsportsmanlike behaviour. Later in his career, Sanipass would leave the NHL and play for the Halifax Citadels from 1991 to 1993. He would retire from the NSJHL East Hants Penguins in 1995.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanipass, Everett 1968 births Living people 20th-century First Nations people Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Chicago Blackhawks players First Nations sportspeople Granby Bisons players Halifax Citadels players Ice hockey people from New Brunswick Indianapolis Ice players Mi'kmaq people National Hockey League first-round draft picks People from Kent County, New Brunswick Quebec Nordiques players Saginaw Hawks players Verdun Junior Canadiens players