Three exceptional athletes from three different sports joined the Saint Mary’s University Sport Hall of Fame, as part of Homecoming 2018. Frank Yakimchuk (football), Mark Locken (hockey) and Brian Thompson (basketball) entered the hall on Saturday, Oct. 13.
“The annual hall of fame ceremony recognizes the accomplishments of exceptional athletes and celebrates their legacy as Huskies and in university sport,” said Scott Gray, Saint Mary’s University’s director of athletics and recreation. “This weekend we will honour three great athletes, and show our student-athletes of today the success that lays ahead of them in the future.”
A product of St. Patrick’s high school, Frank Yakimchuk was an offensive lineman for the Huskies from 1971-1975. He was a member of the 1973 Vanier Cup Championship team and was named a conference all-star during the same season. Yakimchuk often played both offence and defence throughout his time at SMU and was drafted to the CFL in 1974.
Mark Locken, a London, Ontario native, remains one of the most decorated Saint Mary’s players in men’s hockey history. In the 1982-83 season, Locken was the first Saint Mary’s player to win the national Most Valuable Player award. He was a two-time league MVP, 4-time conference all-star, and a three-time member of the CIAU All-Canadian team. Locken was without a doubt one of the most dominant players in the league and the country during his time at Saint Mary’s.
Rounding out the list is basketball standout, Brian Thompson. Thompson, a former captain of the Huskies, played five seasons from 1987-1992. A four-time conference all-star, Thompson remains the top scorer in Saint Mary’s men’s basketball history, amassing 1679 points during his career. In his final season in 1992, Thompson was named to the CIAU All-Canadian team, was third in the nation scoring, and led the Huskies to a conference title and a national silver medal finish.