Cardigan Hockey Student-Athlete Plays in Canada Winter Games

For the week of February 12, Cardigan’s Athlete of the Week reported, “For the past two years, [Nate Watson ’23] has done nothing but make his coaches proud, support his teammates, and be an exemplary hockey player and community member. His impact on the Cardigan Hockey Program has been immeasurable.”

“Very few young men are able to gracefully blend ability with humility to the degree that Nate does,” agrees Cardigan’s Varsity Hockey Head Coach Cam McCusker ’10. “He is an exemplary teammate, an outstanding leader, and is mature beyond his years. Nate’s character is matched not only by his skill and ability as a hockey player, but also more importantly by his work ethic.”

Later in February, Nate’s impact extended beyond the Cardigan campus when he was invited to play defense for Team Quebec in the Canada Winter Games on Prince Edward Island. From February 18 to March 5, the Games brought together 3,600 athletes, managers and coaches, across 20 different sports, for the largest multi-sport event in Canada. For hockey players it is a chance to play with and against some of the best hockey players in the country.

“Nate’s selection to Team Quebec was hard-earned and welldeserved,” says Coach McCusker. “To be one of few players if not the only player to make Team Quebec without playing hockey in Quebec during the season speaks to what a strong impression Nate’s character and play can make in just a short time. We are enormously proud of Nate and his accomplishments, but more so of what a kind and caring young man he is to those around him every day.”

Team Quebec began the games strong, winning two out of three games in the preliminary round, beating Manitoba (6-4) and New Brunswick (7-1) and losing only to Saskatchewan (2-5). Their early successes earned them a spot in the semifinal round during which they again faced Saskatchewan and lost (3-4). Quebec then rebounded, defeating Alberta in the quarterfinals (8-2). In one final match Quebec faced off against British Columbia and won (7-3), earning a bronze medal. The win gave Quebec its sixth bronze medal (1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1995, 2023) in men’s hockey at the event, along with two gold (1987, 2019) and three silver (1999, 2003, 2011).

Nate, who is also this year’s Cardigan School Leader, returned briefly to campus with his family after the games to celebrate his win with a ringing of the victory bell in front of Clark-Morgan Hall, before packing his bags again, this time for Finland. Nate and his Cardigan teammates on the Varsity Hockey Team spent the first 10 days of their spring break in Finland, participating in a cultural exchange with students from Hyvinkää, and of course bonding over a hockey game or two.

Top: playing for Team Quebec in the Canada Winter Games

February and March 2023.

Left: with family at Cardigan Mountain School.