NHL all-star and Cranbrook native Scott Niedermayer teams up with World Wildlife Fund Canada

2010 Olympic gold medallist and captain of Team Canada joins the World Wildlife Fund Canada to become new freshwater ambassador.

Just over a year after retiring from the NHL and leading Team Canada to an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver, Scott Niedermayer has taken up the reins again to bring the city—and the country—international recognition. This time, however, even the salmon will be applauding him.

Niedermayer has joined forces with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to become Canada’s freshwater ambassador, with a focus on the Pacific region. In his new role, Niedermayer will be working with the WWF in its freshwater program, a job that entails raising awareness of the issues involved with the consumption of fresh water and the impacts its usage has on the ecosystems that depend on it. As someone who’s always had an interest in the environment and conservation, it wasn’t long after his June 2010 retirement from the NHL that Niedermayer’s agent suggested he connect with the WWF. 

“I was eager to explore something different than frozen ice and a piece of rubber, which was great – I had a lot of fun doing that. But at the same time, I was excited to learn some new things and try on something different,” said Niedermayer. It’s a move that WWF president and CEO Gerald Butts and vice-president, Pacific region, Darcy Dobell trust will raise awareness and inspire Canadians nationwide about freshwater ecosystems and the importance of conserving those ecosystems. 

“We’re looking to elevate fresh water as a policy issue, a public relations issue. Our point is a really simple, straightforward one: that the life that’s in and around freshwater ecosystems, like grizzly bears and salmon—all the things that make B.C. 'B.C.'—are really important. We need to have a better scientific understanding of what those species need before we start taking so much of it for ourselves,” said Butts.

As for what drew Niedermayer to WWF as his choice in conservation organizations, it was all about their approach.
“I like how they seem to approach it with some give and take and some finesse, and try and just get everybody feeling good about what’s going on,” said Niedermayer, “as opposed to maybe being the loudest voice in the room, and that’s more my style.”