George Downie was a British Royal Navy officer during the War of 1812. He commanded the British squadron which attacked the American fleet anchored at Plattsburgh Bay in Lake Champlain during the Battle of Plattsburgh on 11 September 1814. Downie was leading into battle inexperienced crews, many of them from provincial units and not from the cream of the Royal Navy, against American forces which had both time to prepare and were readily familiar with that area of the Lake. Early in the ensuing battle, Commodore Downie was crushed by a cannon aboard his flagship HMS Confiance and killed instantly; the gun having been struck on its muzzle by a cannonball from the U.S. flagship Saratoga which had sent the piece reeling backwards onto him. One eyewitness later recorded how Downie appeared when the gun, which weighed several tons, was removed:

" His skin was not broken, a black mark about the size of a small plate was the only visible injury. His watch was found flattened, with its hands pointing to the very second at which he received the fatal blow."

George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos (pronounced /strɒmbəˈlɒpələs/; born August 16, 1972) is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (formerly The Hour; a talk show about the world's current events) and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic. Stroumboulopoulos studied Radio Broadcasting at Toronto's Humber College.

He was born in Malton, Ontario, Canada, to a Greek father from Egypt and a Ukrainian mother who was also part Indian. He was raised in Toronto primarily by his mother, and a close-knit extended family.

In the second quarter of 1993, Stroumboulopoulos worked for a rock radio station in Kelowna, B.C., for a few months before getting a job offer at the Toronto radio station Fan 590 AM, working in talk radio for about four years before moving to MuchMusic.

From 2000–2004, Stroumboulopoulos worked at MuchMusic as producer and host of The Punk Show, then host of The NewMusic, MuchLOUD and MuchNews.

Georges Laraque (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ laʁak]; born December 7, 1976) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward, who last played with the Montreal Canadiens before his contract was bought out in 2010. He is a commentator for TVA sport television in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada. During his NHL career he played for the Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Montreal Canadiens. Laraque was born in the city of Montreal, Quebec.

Laraque entered the QMJHL, where he played for a variety of teams. In 173 games at the junior level, Laraque stockpiled 107 points and 661 penalty minutes. Laraque was a member of the 1996 Granby Prédateurs team which won the Memorial Cup.

After finishing junior, Laraque spent parts of three seasons with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs.

Despite concerns about his skating, Laraque showed enough at the AHL-level for Edmonton to bring him to the NHL. Although he was something of a power forward in junior hockey, Laraque is considered primarily as an enforcer at the NHL level. His 6'3" frame and his habit of fighting made him one of the most feared forwards in the league. He was unanimously awarded the 'Best Fighter' award from The Hockey News in 2003. He was named the number one enforcer by Sports Illustrated in 2008. Despite his reputation as a fighting-only player, Laraque has had offensive bursts during his career and on February 21, 2000, Laraque scored a hat trick against the Los Angeles Kings and was also named the game's first star.

Steve Downie (born April 3, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League.

Downie grew up in Holland Landing, Ontario, the younger son of John and Anne Downie. He has a brother, Greg. He attended Sacred Heart High School in Newmarket, playing hockey for the York-Simcoe Express AAA organization of the OMHA. He also attended St. Joseph's Catholic High School in Windsor, Ontario in 2004. Downie led his Express Bantam team to the All-Ontario AAA Championship in April 2002. He was drafted in the 1st round (16th overall) by the Windsor Spitfires in the 2003 OHL Priority Selection.

Downie was selected in the first round, 29th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. Not long after being drafted, Downie was suspended for five games early in the 2005–06 OHL season for an on-ice altercation with teammate Akim Aliu. During a practice on September 28, 2005, Downie blindly cross-checked Aliu in the face without warning, knocking out 3 of his teeth, and then proceeded to fight his younger teammate. The incident stemmed from 16-year-old Aliu's refusal to take part in a hazing incident, where he would have been forced to stand naked in a cramped bus bathroom with other rookies. The team suspended Downie for five games and Aliu for one, and Downie was told to undergo professional counseling. Head coach Moe Mantha, Jr. was suspended by the OHL and later fired by the team, and the team was fined $35,000 by the OHL. Downie left the team, requesting a trade, and was eventually traded from the Windsor Spitfires, going to the Peterborough Petes in exchange for Peter Aston.

Anthony Aaron Volpatti (born May 30, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

A native of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Volpatti played Junior A hockey for the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). After recording 5 points (1 goal and 4 assists) over 55 games as a rookie in 2003–04, he improved to 18 points (6 goals and 12 assists) over 57 games the following season. In the 2005 BCHL playoffs, the Vipers advanced to the Fred Page Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the Surrey Eagles. During a team camping trip that summer, Volpatti received burns to over 35% of his body (including his abdomen and face) after spilling gas onto himself while he and his teammates were playing with fire. Hospitalized for five months, doctors told him he would not play again for two years, if at all. The use of his right hand was in particular jeopardy. Despite the prognosis, Volpatti returned to the lineup for the start of the 2005–06 season, although injuries to his muscles limited him to 25 of the team's 60 games. long maybe impossible recovery but managed to dress for 25 games the following year. He recorded 6 goals and 14 points.