By: Kaja Antic, Sports Writer
January 13: Six Canucks headed to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game
After defenceman Quinn Hughes was named in the NHL All-Star roster selections on January 4, a fan vote to fill the remaining roster spots sent goaltender Thatcher Demko, forwards Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and head coach Rick Tocchet to the All-Star Game in Toronto from February 1–3.
January 15: Bills mafia shovels snow from their stadium, win wild-card matchup
After severe weather in the region caused the January 13 playoff wild-card game to be postponed between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bills offered their fans $20 an hour on top of food for snow removal assistance. Hundreds arrived at Highmark Stadium, and after two days of shovelling snow, the Bills were ready to play — beating the Steelers 31–17.
January 16: McLaren first F1 team to reveal 2024 livery
With the first grand prix weekend of the 2024 F1 season scheduled from February 29–March 2 in Bahrain, McLaren released the look for their challenger: the MCL38. This new livery heavily features the colours papaya and anthracite, as well as small touches of chrome. It has also noticeably lost the streak of blue it was sporting last season to a lot of fans’ approval.
January 17: Raptors trade Siakam to Pacers
On Wednesday, the Toronto Raptors traded two-time NBA All-Star and 2019 NBA Champion Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in return for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, two 2024 first-round picks and one 2026 first-round pick. Also included in the trade was Kira Lewis, who the Pacers acquired from the New Orleans Pelican alongside a 2024 second-round pick; the Pacers sent Lewis to Toronto, keeping the second-round pick for themselves.
January 20: BCHL agrees to terms with five Alberta-based teams, Alberta league responds
The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) has agreed to terms with five teams from the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) for next year’s season. These teams will also be splitting from the larger Hockey Canada association, as the BCHL, which currently operates 17 teams throughout the province, had separated from the organization the previous summer to go independent. In a statement, the AJHL shared they weren’t informed by the five teams of their departure, subsequently cancelling seven games all scheduled to be played by the departing teams: the Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders, and Spruce Grove Saints. On January 25, the five teams were barred from playing games against any other teams staying in the league, and could only play against each other. In the latest development, all five “defecting” teams released a joint post stating that while an agreement has been reached with the BCHL, nothing has been signed. The news of the deal was also not supposed to be revealed until May 1. As a result of these conflicting statements, the AJHL is “calling on the BCHL and the clubs to provide immediate clarification.”
January 20: Canada wins first World Cup medal in super team ski-jumping
Calgarians Alex Loutitt and Abigail Strate earned a podium placement for super team ski-jumping, receiving the first ski-jumping World Cup medal for this event in Canadian history. The duo received 709.7 points for the silver medal; Slovenia won gold with 722.2 points, and Austria took home bronze with 697.0 points.
January 20: Dricus du Plessis, the first South African UFC Champion
At UFC 297 in Toronto, Dricus du Plessis defeated reigning champion Sean Strickland to claim the middleweight championship belt. He is the first South African to become a UFC championship belt holder, having won the fight via split decision after five rounds.
