Travelways championship team, Ryan Smith, Richard Scott and Tracey Zwiers honoured at Orillia Sports Hall of Fame Gala Saturday night.
The stories were different, but the same sentiment was repeated throughout the evening Saturday inside the ballroom at Casino Rama.
A championship hockey team remembered for uniting a city. A figure skater who carried lessons from the rink into medicine. An NHL player whose journey began under homemade backyard rink lights. A coach and volunteer who spent decades creating opportunities for others.
Together, the newest inductees into the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame reflected not only athletic achievement, but the impact sport can have on an entire community.
The 1985 Orillia Travelways, two-time Canadian ice dancing champion Ryan Smith, former NHL forward Richard Scott, and longtime skating coach and builder Tracey Zwiers were formally inducted Saturday night during a gala at Casino Rama.
For many in attendance, the emotional centrepiece of the evening came from the induction of the 1985 Travelways team, which captured the Centennial Cup national championship on home ice more than four decades ago.
The team’s coach, Gary Marsh, said winning at that level in junior hockey required far more than talent alone.
“What makes a constant winner is a number of things. You have to have excellent ownership, you need a scouting system from a great general manager, you need fans to turn out every home game to cheer and add the intimidation for playing in a smaller, older building,” Marsh told the sold-out crowd.
Marsh credited the team’s success to ownership, scouting, local support, media coverage, and a roster built around both skill and character.
“We spent time not only on the player’s ability, but his character and how he fit into our team,” he said. “The answer is having all your players playing at 100 per cent of their ability all at the same time. That is what this team did.”
Team captain Jamie Clarke delivered an emotional speech that focused as much on Orillia as the championship banner.
“I think I found a home in Orillia,” Clarke recalled telling his mother on a collect phone call not long after arriving in the city as a young player.
Clarke said he had never even heard of Orillia before management picked him up while he was attending college in Toronto.
“Two guys pull up in a black sedan to where I was living in Toronto for college, and I’m standing there with a hockey bag and a small suitcase,” he said. “They look at me and ask, ‘Is that all you have?’”
The team’s 1984 heartbreak, a Game 7 loss in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, became the motivation that fuelled the following season’s championship run.
“We made a promise to ourselves that we would never feel that way again,” Clarke said.
The following year, the Travelways went 39-7-2 before winning the Centennial Cup tournament in Orillia.
Clarke vividly remembered the atmosphere after defeating the Penticton Knights 4-2 in the final.
“That building, the old community centre barn, absolutely erupted,” he said. “The sound, the energy… it’s something you can’t fully describe unless you were there.”
He said the celebration spread throughout the city.
“Car horns, people lining the streets, flags waving, it felt like the whole town had come together as one big team.”
Clarke said the experience shaped many of the players long after hockey ended.
“Because honestly, it was never just hockey,” he said. “It taught us what happens when you work hard, you sacrifice, you buy in, and you stick together.”
While the Travelways represented a shared chapter in Orillia sports history, Ryan Smith’s induction reflected a more personal journey of discipline, sacrifice, and perseverance.
Introduced by longtime skating coach David Islam, Smith was recognized not only for his success in ice dance alongside partner Brenda Kay, but also for the years of work behind those accomplishments.
Islam described daily early-morning commutes from Orillia to Barrie, hours of on-ice and off-ice training, and Smith’s role in helping elevate the Mariposa School of Skating’s dance program nationally.
“Every day Ryan came to the rink, the gym, the studio, ready to give 150 per cent,” Islam said.
Smith’s own speech began with humour, recalling an early childhood skating performance at the Orillia Winter Carnival where he recalled he was dressed like a playing card, noting he “really couldn’t skate.”
“I was actually the last kid off the ice with a whole big spotlight following me around,” Smith said.
Years later, that same child would become a national champion, represent Canada internationally, complete engineering and medical studies, and eventually become a pediatrician.
Smith said the lessons learned through skating extended far beyond competition.
“It was not just an activity I wanted to do,” he said. “It was part of how I learned to work, how I learned to fail, how I learned to improve, and how I learned to show up.”
He credited his parents for years of sacrifices, including early-morning drives, competitions, and countless hours spent supporting his career.
“They gave up weekends, evenings, mornings, sleep, and probably a lot of sanity,” Smith said.
He also emphasized the importance of local sports opportunities and community support.
“The opportunities I had in Orillia helped shape the rest of my life,” he said. “You may not always know the full impact you are having at the time, but it can last a lifetime.”
Former NHL forward Richard Scott’s induction focused heavily on perseverance and determination.
Scott’s hockey journey beginning on outdoor backyard rinks built and maintained by his father, George, who even installed lights so his son could continue skating late into the evening.
From the Couchiching Jr. A Terriers, Scott advanced to the Oshawa Generals before fighting his way into professional hockey despite going undrafted.
He later played in the ECHL, AHL, and eventually with the New York Rangers between 2001 and 2004.
Video tributes from former teammates and NHL stars including Adam Graves and Eric Lindros praised Scott’s toughness and loyalty as a teammate.
Lindros described Scott as a “terrific teammate,” while former teammate Kevin Colley credited Scott’s “mental toughness” and willingness “to do whatever it takes to win.”
Scott was unable to be at the ceremony.
Builder inductee Tracey Zwiers’ speech tied together many of the themes that echoed throughout the evening, including volunteerism, mentorship, resilience, and the power of local sport.
Zwiers moved to Orillia at age 12 to pursue competitive figure skating before later dedicating decades to coaching, volunteering, Special Olympics involvement, and program development.
She reflected on helping navigate major challenges within the local skating community, including the closure of the Orillia Community Centre in 1999 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“What grew from that experience was something unexpected, but incredibly valuable, communication,” she said while discussing collaboration between local ice user groups during the arena shortage.
During the pandemic, she said skaters adapted however they could.
“We all learned how to train, skate, and skater block on a short rink, in parking lots, on the snow, or in freezing temperatures,” she said.
Zwiers said the recognition represented far more than her own work.
“It represents a community that believes in the power of sport to shape character, build confidence, and bring people together,” she said.
Original Article by: Tyler Evans – Orillia Matters
Link to Article: New Hall of Fame class reflects Orillia’s sports legacy
Photo By: Orillia Matters
Date: May 10th, 2026
