By Sophia Blew

It was May 23, 2022, and a first-year Connor Bowie had landed at the wrong terminal following his flight from his hometown of Fort St. John, B.C. 

It was already night at Toronto Pearson, and after wading through crowds of people, Bowie finally found Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s hockey head coach Johnny Duco amid the chaos.

Though he’d just travelled across the country, Bowie only had one thing on his mind, “I want to see the rink!’” he told Duco. 

For Duco, this told him everything he needed to know about Bowie. “For me, that was like a very clear indication, this guy’s a hockey player. He loves hockey.”

Bowie, who has captained the Bold since 2025, quickly began racking up accolades the second he set foot on the ice, including making the Ontario University Athletics West All-Rookie team in his first year and winning gold for Team Canada at the Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) World University Games in his third. 

Now, after almost half a decade, Bowie is approaching his final year of eligibility and will soon look ahead to a future beyond the Bold. When he first began weighing post-secondary options, his commitment to TMU sparked almost instantly.

“I don’t even think the coaches know this,” said Bowie. “But I think the night after I saw the Mattamy Athletic Centre, I called my parents, and I was like, ‘I’m pretty sure I’m going to come to TMU.’ I think there were still probably two or three days left on that trip, but it kind of sealed the deal for me right away.”

Before he knew it, Bowie was wearing blue and gold himself, and though it took time to adjust, he still remembers former teammates Cole Resnick, Kevin Gursoy, and Chris Playfair, who helped ease his transition as he fitted into a new dressing room. Years later, he extends the same kindness to new recruits that he received in his first season.

“My first day, I didn’t know who anyone was,” said first-year forward Jack Rimmer. “And [Bowie] was the first guy to come up to me and shake my hand. He’s very inclusive and just a great guy, very welcoming for all the first-years.”

Just before the end of his first semester, Bowie began finding his stride. In a Nov. 26 matchup against the York University Lions, the Bold were up 2-1 in the second period before Lion first-year forward Thomas Lacombe equalized in the last frame with two minutes remaining.

“I remember kicking myself coming back to the bench thinking, ‘I’m a first-year guy, and [Duco] trusts me finally, and I do that,’” said Bowie. “And he looks at me, and he says, ‘You’re going back out there, and you’re going to win this game for us.’ And at the time, I was thinking, oh my god, he really believes in me.”

Sure enough, Bowie would notch the game-winner with just 14 seconds left. That moment, he said, was when he truly found his place on the team.

Towards the end of his second year, however, Bowie sustained a major hand injury, sidelining him during the University Cup Championship that March. 

“That was my first really big injury like that, and not being out there with your teammates, I think any athlete would know that that’s just the worst thing that could happen to you,” he said. “It was tough for me mentally, but luckily I had a good support system with my family, friends and even the boys to make that transition easier.”

Though Bowie couldn’t contribute on the ice, fourth-year defender Jaden Raad, who stepped in as a forward, said his initiative didn’t waver in the locker room. 

“Whether it was something he saw on the ice that might have helped us tactically or strategically, he’d be the first guy to speak up and say it,” Raad said.

Bowie’s growing quality and maturity with the Bold earned him a spot on Team Canada for the FISU World Games in January 2025. Representing his nation in Torino, Italy alongside Duco and former Bold teammate Kai Edmonds in a fairy-tale gold-medal final over Slovakia, one moment for Bowie stands out in particular.

After Team Canada had sealed their victory, the players waited to hear their national anthem played over the speakers. But no music came.

Taking matters into their own hands, Bowie and his teammates filled the silence themselves.

“They didn’t play ‘O Canada’ after we won gold, and our whole team lined up along the blue line and just kind of sang it to our fans and all the Canadian supporters that came,” said Bowie.

For Duco, wearing the Team Canada logo was an immense source of pride, saying the games were “an unbelievable experience and something that [he’ll] cherish for the rest of [his] life.”

Later that year, Bowie was voted captain by his teammates, marking a significant step in his leadership development. 

“He understood the importance of everybody feeling a part of the team and everybody really caring about each other,” said former teammate Chris Playfair, who handed off the captaincy to Bowie. 

Likewise, for Raad, his thoughts go back to his first year, when he was still trying to find his place in the lineup. He said Bowie was a reassuring and encouraging presence, who told him the adjustment would come and he would eventually end up where he wanted in the lineup if he kept working hard.

“He’s one of those guys who knew how much I wanted it coming in, and kind of stuck by me, and he had the confidence in me,” said Raad.

Bowie credits his former captains for his own leadership qualities.

“I’ve been lucky to have lots of really good leaders come before me, Jesse Barwell, [Playfair], a lot of other assistants too, that I was able to learn from,” said Bowie.

Bowie now kicks off his final season with the Bold, where his banner hopes still remain for this year’s team. But the first key to making the Queen’s Cup Championship is having a tight-knit team both on and off the ice.

Whether it’s decompressing during a team dinner or a Tuesday movie night at Cineplex, Bowie has focused on building a family culture from the top down.

“Yes, we work hard, and we’re focused on winning championships, but everybody has fun coming to the rink every day,” said Bowie.

Bowie’s contributions are not lost on Duco. “He’s just had an absolutely amazing career with us. We talk a lot with our leaders and our players about leaving the program in a better place than you found it. Without a doubt, Connor has left the program in a better place than he found it.”