National Sports

Alex Russell will captain Canada in the final round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Krakow, Poland, where the Canadian men will look to take a step closer to regaining their spot in the elite HSBC SVNS circuit.

Former Toronto Argonauts president Brian Cooper has no doubt the Canadian Football League got it right hiring longtime television executive Stewart Johnston as its new commissioner. The CFL announced Johnston's appointment Wednesday.

The Canadian Premier League kicks off its seventh season Saturday with Atletico Ottawa's Sergei Kozlovskiy and J.D. Ulanowski serving as prime examples of the platform the domestic soccer league offers. Both have a bright future.

TORONTO — Toronto FC has acquired Swiss/Spanish midfielder Maxime Dominguez on loan from Brazil's Vasco da Gama, the Major League Soccer team announced Thursday. The loan runs through Dec. 31, with a purchase option at the end.

MONTREAL — Marie-Philip Poulin always feels honoured to represent her country on the international stage.

Paul Maurice has led hundreds of meetings across a long coaching career. The video rolls. There are points of emphasis. Players get their marching orders.

Canada climbed one spot to an all-time best No. 30 in the latest FIFA rankings released Thursday. The Canadian men had reached their previous high in November after climbing four places to No. 31. They were unchanged in the end-of-year December list.

TORONTO — John Tavares put the puck in the net off a slick William Nylander feed. Mitch Marner then finished a nice setup from Auston Matthews before finding Matthew Knies with a breathtaking stretch pass that led to a breakaway goal.

SASKATOON — Ben Kindel's hat trick helped the Calgary Hitmen rout the Saskatoon Blades 6-2 on Wednesday and complete a four-game sweep in their first-round Western Hockey League playoff series.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks went into Wednesday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken knowing that they needed every point they could get to stay alive in the NHL’s Western Conference playoff race.