While most first-year students were holed up in the library last month, Kevin Bailie, Law’19, was on the ice. Balancing hockey with exams, Bailie began December training with some of the best young players in the world, and ended it earning a spot on Team Canada for an international competition for student athletes. 

"I was looking forward to wiping my schedule and focusing only on law, but then it was probably my busiest month in university,” he says.

His hard work paid off. The Queen’s goaltender will represent Canada – and Queen’s Law – at the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

“It will be my first time getting to wear the Canadian jersey,” Bailie says. “It’s going to be a special moment.”

The tournament starts on January 22, and lasts three weeks.

“It’s a mini-Olympics, with opening and closing ceremonies,” Bailie says. “It’s the second largest congregation of athletes behind the Olympics.”

Bailie has played for Queen’s since 2013, when he won Rookie of the Year and had the second-highest save percentage in the nation.   

"It's a big deal for me, it’s a big deal for Queen’s,” Bailie says. “It’s also a part of the world I otherwise wouldn’t get to see. 

Bailie says he came close during his time as the last line of defence for the Oshawa Generals and the London Knights during his five-year junior career with the Ontario Hockey League.

I didn’t think I would get an opportunity like this again,” he says. “That’s kind of what pushed me towards it.”

Earlier in the month, Bailie suited up to practice with the darlings of the holiday hockey schedule, the Canadian National Junior Team (“all those guys are going to play in the NHL”). In their preparation for the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship, the Canadian team faced off in a series of games against the U Sports all-star team, made up of the best of university hockey players from around the country. 

Bailie, for the second year in a row, was one of the goaltenders selected to the team.

“It’s always interesting to see how the game has changed. It shows my age. And I’m only four years removed from the OHL,” says Bailie. The camp lasted four days in early December, right after Bailie’s first law school exam.

With the Junior coaches still evaluating players to finalize their roster, Bailie and the other U Sports goalies didn’t get to play in the games. Though disappointed, Bailie still calls the experience rewarding. He trained with the team, networked with coaching staff, and was considered by professional scouts.

“There were probably 100 to 150 scouts there. It’s a good showcase,” he says.

That showcase led to a Team Canada training camp at the end of December, where he was selected as a goaltender for Team Canada’s university-level team.

Choosing to spend three weeks in Kazakhstan in the middle of the winter term was a hard choice, but Bailie is no stranger to hard choices. Last spring, he was mulling over a potential contract with the Edmonton Oilers. He picked Queen’s Law over professional hockey.

“I evaluated it with my family and ultimately chose law school,” he says. “It was the smartest decision I could’ve made. I don’t regret it.

“It’s a much less glamorous lifestyle, studying,” Bailie says, adding that pro hockey is an unpredictable career. 

This time, Bailie sought advice from partners at firms he’s interested in working for, all former student-athletes, on whether to attend the Universiade. 

“Every single one of them said, ‘You’ll regret it if you don’t go.’”

Watch our Facebook page for photos and updates of Kevin Bailie’s experiences at the Winter Universiade. 

By Jeremy Mutton