By Isabella Disley
For the first time in 16 years, Canada doesn’t have its long-time co-captain on the court for a premier global tournament at the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships, which run from Aug. 17-24 in São Paulo, Brazil.
But four-time Paralympian Patrice Dagenais’s next challenge has been years in the making. In his later years with Team Canada, the London 2012 Paralympic silver medallist acted as an unofficial assistant coach while also taking the floor on occasion.
The dual player/coach role is a familiar one for Dagenais, whether with his Ottawa Stingers club or with the Team Ontario Thunder, whom he helped to a national title at the 2026 Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championships earlier this spring, where he took on yet another post – local organizing committee chair.
While he won’t be playing for Canada at this week’s worlds, it won’t be long until the 41-year-old is back wearing the maple leaf – Dagenais will soon be leading the charge from the sidelines for the first official Women’s Wheelchair Rugby World Championship come Dec. 1-5 in Paris.
“I’m passionate about the sport,” Dagenais said in explaining his extensive involvement in all aspects of wheelchair rugby. “I know how much it gave to me when I started playing, more than 20 years ago.
“I want to give back to the community, to other players, so they also have a chance to compete at national championships or even international competitions. I’m just enjoying being a teacher and a leader.”
Dagenais was among the leaders who helped establish Wheelchair Rugby Canada’s Women’s Development Program and will soon serve as the team’s coach at the historic worlds at the site of what was likely his final Paralympic appearance at the Paris 2024 Games.
A few weeks before the Canadian championships in Ottawa came another major milestone for the sport in Canada when the first women’s wheelchair rugby nationals were held in Montreal.
There, fellow Ottawa Paralympic silver medallist Brianna Hennessy (who earned her podium in para canoe in Paris), tipped her hat to Dagenais for his contributions to developing women’s wheelchair rugby.
“Pico is an absolute legend in the sport. To have him commit to us and the women’s game means everything to us,” an emotional Hennessy told the Canadian Paralympic Committee. “There’s a special place in my heart for Pico. I’ve always called him my white knight in shining armour because he’s the one who got me out of my deep depression after my accident.
“It took me two years to come up with the courage to do anything with accessibility equipment and he’s the one who broke me out of that and gave me that piece of my identity back that I lost from my accident, so I owe all that to him.”
Hennessy, who is currently preparing for the Aug. 25-29 ICF Canoe Sprint & Para Canoe World Championships in Poland, previously told the Ottawa Sports Pages that “women’s wheelchair rugby at the Paralympics would be amazing” – which is proponents’ long-term objective as they look ahead to the first worlds.
“Even if they end up doing it in like 10 or 15 years and I have to come out of retirement, you’re gonna see me there,” she vowed.
Dagenais, likewise, still enjoys competing and plans to continue playing as much as he can. He revelled in his Ontario Thunder’s 57-47 gold medal victory over Quebec at May’s nationals at Carleton University alongside Stingers teammate Ben Perkins, who is part of the national team program but not on the worlds team.
“It feels great. We battled for three days, and we were able to win all our games,” Dagenais recounted. “We know how to play with each other. We have a lot of experience going to tournaments and practicing together, so it helps to build strong chemistry when we compete against other provinces.”
From an organizer’s perspective, Dagenais felt “really happy” about how the nationals unfolded in Ottawa, saluting the funding partners and sponsors who got behind the event that was livestreamed by CBC Sports.
“It’s great to have that support. It allows us to plan something that the athletes are going to enjoy. Then we get lots of volunteer help, which makes these events possible,” he noted.
Dagenais’s impact as a mentor was also on display as four Stingers players celebrated national Division 2 crowns as members of the Ontario Lightning. Reid Mulligan, Dwayne Besharah, Kevin McEwen and Greg Antoine helped the Lightning to a 38-34 win over Quebec 2 a couple hours before the second home team won the biggest prize.
“It is a lot of fun,” Antoine highlighted. “It’s exciting to see everyone and see how we’ve progressed personally and as a team over the last year.”
Antoine’s path into wheelchair rugby came after he broke his neck in 2023, when the Stingers came into the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre to do a demonstration. Antoine still had his halo (neck brace) on when they visited, but he knew that wheelchair rugby would be part of his life.
“Everyone comes down, we watch them, and then if you want, if you’re interested, you jump in and start playing, and it was a ton of fun. I loved it right away,” Antoine recalled. “The guys are super supportive. Once I got out of rehab, and a month or two later, I started going to practices, so they would nicely not hit me too hard. They let you score that point – try not to make it obvious.”
Practices are more strenuous nowadays as Antoine enjoys the competitive outlet, although finding community was what he appreciated most at first.
“These guys are super welcoming. You come in, and they kind of pull you in, make you feel welcome, and just really commit to helping you get through the toughest time in your life. They are awesome,” underlined Antoine, who drew pointers from his teammates beyond sport as well.
“You’re not just playing rugby, after you’re kind of staring at them just to figure out how they live life as a quadriplegic,” he added. “You’re staring at their chairs, looking at their setup, what kind of tools and different things they have with them. I remember following them to their cars, to see how they transfer from their chair to their car, and they all get in a little bit differently.”
Dagenais experienced all of that when he became paralyzed due to a construction accident at age 18. The former junior hockey player then put together an international playing career that included four Paralympic and four World Championships appearances, where he won a silver medal at each, plus a Parapan American Games gold medal from Toronto 2015 and two silver.
He’ll be keeping close tabs on Team Canada as a new generation takes the court in Brazil.
“At the moment, Canada is in a bit of a rebuild mode, so they have a lot of young guys that they want to get experience to get ready for the Paralympics,” Dagenais signalled. “I think they’ll definitely have some tough competition. I think their goal is to develop their players and do their best as possible.”
He isn’t planning to return as a player come L.A. 2028, but he does hope to experience the Paralympics once again in the future.
“I’ve been to four Paralympic Games, so I don’t feel like I necessarily need to be an athlete at another one,” Dagenais indicated. “Maybe as a coach one day, but I’m happy with the transition.”