Banner year for Law While completing first year law, Queen’s Gaels goaltender Kevin Bailie, Law’19, was a dominant force in university hockey. He won medals in international and national competitions, was invited to challenge Canada’s World Junior team, and capped off 2016–17 winning the Jenkins Trophy as Queen’s top male athlete. “To be associated with the most accomplished student-athletes of the last 90 years is something I’m very proud of,” he says. “I have to give a lot of credit to the unbelievable teammates who have played in front of me for the last four seasons.” Bailie, a former Ontario Hockey League star goalie who played for four coaches now with the NHL, also has high praise for Queen’s coaches. “The coaching here is just as good, or better,” he says. “My Gaels coaches have been instrumental in my development as an athlete and I can’t thank them enough.” When the April 5 varsity athletic awards banquet officially marked the end of the season, Bailie could finally exhale. Balancing academics with varsity men’s hockey has made this past year the “most challenging” of his life. But a true student-athlete, he’s excelled in both pursuits – Bailie earned bronze for Canada in Kazakhstan earlier this year at the 2017 Winter Universiade. With league-topping stats, he was widely considered the best goaltender in the OUA playoffs. In the post-season he pulled off a .969 save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.10. Queen’s went to the national championship for the first time in 36 years. All the while, he kept up with readings and assignments. Sometimes that meant carting textbooks halfway across the world. Ever modest, Bailie says he’s thankful for the opportunity to compete at the highest level in Canadian interuniversity hockey while attending Queen’s Law. With one more year of eligibility, he’ll be back between the pipes next year. The year was a busy one. In late March, Bailie returned from the national championships, the U Sports Cup, in Fredericton, N.B. His Introduction to Lawyering Skills (ILS) moot was moved ahead nearly a week to accommodate. “Christa Bracci (Law’00), my ILS instructor, did an unbelievable job, and my moot partner too, agreeing to move it up,” he says. “That kind of support is invaluable.” On their way to New Brunswick, a winter storm had closed highways, stranding the rest of the team in Quebec for two days. Bailie was already in Fredericton for a press conference. “My flight was the last one into Fredericton for 60 hours,” he says. Though the tired Gaels fell 5-1 to host UNB in the quarterfinals, they came home with silver medals. That game capped off a historic season, in which the upstart team showed Queen’s is one of the best in the nation. “Queen’s hockey program has been around for 135 years and had one of the first men’s varsity teams in Canada,” he says. “This year, we broke our record for most wins in the regular season and then we qualified for nationals – only the second time that’s been done in school history.” “We’re a hockey program now,” head coach Brett Gibson said after the game. “We’ve always been a great school academically, but now we’re the best of both worlds. Why wouldn’t you want to come to Queen’s? You can 88 QUEEN’S LAW REPORTS ONLINE
Kevin Bailie, Law’19, winner o named the top male athlete a