Darnell Nurse to be Pan Am Games torchbearer

Hamilton's Darnell Nurse was announced Monday as one of the Canadians who will carry the Pan Am Games torch across the Canada.

The Edmonton Oilers prospect was one of nine "familiar" Canadians, announced Monday, who will participate in the 41-day torch relay beginning May 30. The relay involves more than 3,000 Canadians and passes through over 130 communities, according to a press release from Pan Am Games organizers.

Nurse is likely to be a teammate of junior hockey star Connor McDavid on the NHL's Edmonton Oilers this season. He and McDavid played together on the Canadian team that won World Junior Hockey Championship gold earlier this year. The defenceman played the first two games of his NHL career this past season.

Nurse's father, Richard, was a wide receiver with the Hamilton in the Canadian Football League while his mother, Cathy, was a basketball star with McMaster University. In April, his younger sister Kia won a national college basketball championship in the U.S. the University of Connecticut. His older sister, Tamika, played basketball at Oregon and Bowling Green and his uncle is former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.

The other Canadians announced Monday as torchbearers are:

• J.R. Fitzpatrick of Cambridge, Ont., a NASCAR driver
• Steve Bauer of Milton, Ont., an Olympic silver medallist (1984) in cycling
• Alexandre Bilodeau of Montreal, Que., a two-time Olympic gold medallist skier (2010 and 2014)
• Dwayne De Rosario of Toronto, Ont., a retired soccer player
• Wayne Simmonds of Toronto, Ont., an NHL hockey player with the Philadelphia Flyers
• Patrick Chan of Toronto, Ont., a three-time world figure skating champion
• Jim Cuddy of Toronto, Ont., of Blue Rodeo
• Amanda Martinez of Toronto, Ont., a singer-songwriter

In April, Hamilton announced ten Hamiltonians who will be community torchbearers for the Pan Am Games. They are:

• Competitive swimming athlete, Alex Parent
• Local running luminary and running shop owner Esther Pauls
• Lacrosse star born in Six Nations, Johnny Powless
• Lloyd Turner, a veteran community builder and convener of Canada Day celebrations whom the city says brings "the uncommon voices" to conversations
• Melvin Hawkrigg, a former Hamilton Tiger Cat and member of several McMaster athletic teams before becoming chancellor of the university
• Cyclist Susan Palmer-Komar, who won a silver medal for Team Canada at the Pan Am Games and also competed in the Olympics in Atlanta
• Runner and CHML personality Ted Michaels who advocates for mental health issues
• Lloyd Turner, one of the longest serving members of Hamilton's Folk Arts Council, and an active leader for the African Canadian Caribbean Association of Hamilton
• Adrian Strassburger, 14, a Kitchener, Ont native, represent Hamilton after receiving care from McMaster Children's Hospital at 11-years-old when diagnosed with megacolon syndrome
• Alex Cherney, WWII veteran, principal, teacher.