LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisiana shortstop DJ Sanders and Villanova southpaw Brette Lawrence named Louisville Slugger NFCA Division I National Player and of the Week, respectively, for games played April 17-23, announced the Association on Tuesday afternoon.

Sanders was a familiar site on the base paths last week. She reached base safely in 14 of 15 plate appearances and scored all but once, totaling 13 runs. The junior from Columbus, Miss. also drew nine walks and recorded a .933 on-base percentage. When she did have a chance to swing the bat, Sanders recorded five hits (5-for-6), four of which left the park, and drove in 10 runs. She opened the scoring with a two-run first-inning homer in a 11-9 road win at then-No. 4 Texas A&M. Sanders also drew a pair of two-out walks that set up a grand slam and a base-clearing double. In the first two games of a Sun Belt doubleheader versus Georgia State, she was 4-for-4 with three dingers, seven RBI and seven runs scored. Her four long balls brought her NCAA-leading total to 27.

“We have a plan that changes for each pitcher and Coach Mike does a good job preparing us for what’s coming,” Sanders said after Saturday’s performance at the plate. “We spend all week preparing for it, so I’m not up there guessing what the pitcher is going to throw. It just so happens that when I square it, it usually goes out, but it’s only because of the preparation that Coach Mike has put in.”

Highlighted by a perfect game against St. John’s, Lawrence was 5-0 with a 0.76 ERA and 21 strikeouts to just three walks in 27.1 innings of work. While holding St. John’s offense, who owned the BIG EAST’s top batting average, scoreless in two starts, the senior from Sparks, Nev. limited her opposition to a .194 batting average. In the six-inning perfecto, Lawrence struck out four Red Storm batter in an 8-0 win. A day earlier, she surrendered four hits, struck out seven and did not walk a batter in a complete-game 2-0 triumph over St. Johns. Additionally, she earned a complete-game win over Monmouth and collected a pair of wins against Fairleigh Dickinson in which she did not allow a run and struck out five in seven innings of work.

“Everyone was energetic and ready to play well, so it made my job easy,” said Lawrence. “I knew in my mind as the game went on that it was a perfect game, but we all kept it to ourselves until it actually happened. The last inning was nerve-wracking, but I kept telling myself to throw one pitch at a time and throw my best pitch. I knew my defense would be right behind me, just like they were all game.” 

Player of the Week
April 25 – DJ Sanders (Louisiana)
April 18 – Caroline Seitz (Mississippi State)
April 11 – Jessica Warren (Florida State)
April 4 – Kaylan Jablonski (Nebraska)
March 28 – Brooke Vines (Tennessee)
March 21 – Braxton Burnside (Missouri)
March 14 – Chloe Miller (Wisconsin)
March 7 – Alex Mycek (East Carolina)
Feb. 28 – Mo Mercado (Arizona)
Feb. 21 – Bailey Landry (LSU)
Feb. 14 – Mary Stephens (Missouri State)

Pitcher of the Week
April 25 – Brette Lawrence (Villanova)
April 18 – Kelly Barnhill (Florida)
April 11 – Randi Rupp (Texas State)
April 4 – Cheyenne Baker (Missouri)
March 28 – Danielle O’Toole (Arizona)
March 21 – Sierra Hyland (Cal Poly) & Emily Watson (Tulsa)
March 14 – Alexis Osorio (Alabama)
March 7 – Kelsee Selman (Baylor)
Feb. 28 – Sam Show (Texas A&M)
Feb. 21 – Jessica Burroughs (Florida State)
Feb. 14 – Taran Alvelo (Washington)

Selected Top Performances
Katiyana Mauga, Arizona (Pac-12 Player of the Week)- .474, 9 H, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 1.316 SLG; Rachel Garcia, UCLA (Pac-12 Pitcher & Freshman of the Week)- 2-0, save, 0.00 ERA, 2 R, 0 ER, 16 K, 4 BB, 8 H, .151 opp. BA, 14 IP, .400 BA, 4 H, RBI; Taran Alvelo, Washington- 2-0 at Alabama, 12 K, SHO, 12 IP; Kelly Barnhill, Florida (SEC Pitcher of the Week)- 2-0, SHO, 0 R, 25 K, 1 BB, 12 IP; Kayli Kvistad, Florida (SEC Player of the Week)- .636, 7 H, 8 RBI; Sarah Cornell, Hofstra (CAA Pitcher of the Week)- 2-0, 1.00 ERA, SHO, 18 K, .122 opp BA, no-hitter vs. Stony Brook (9K); Megan Good, JMU (CAA Player of the Week)- 3-for-4, 2 2B, HR, 2.000 SLG, .833 OBP, 4 RBI, 1-0, 0.81 ERA, 1 R, 5 H, 4 K; 2-0, SHO, 0 R; Abby Morrow, Radford (Big South Co-Pitcher of the Week)- 4-0, 0.26 ERA, 3 SHO, 1 R, 15 K, 3 BB, 26.2 IP; Abby Stoner, Western Michigan (MAC West Player of the Week)- .545 (6-for-11), 2 HR, grand slam, 8 RBI, 4 BB, .667 OBP; Emily Watson, Tulsa (American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week)- 3-0, 0.37 ERA, 31 K, 0 BB; Jordan de los Reyes, Illinois State (MVC Player of the Week)- .692, 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 1.462 SLG; Vicky Kinney, Omaha (Summit League Player of the Week)- .667 (10-for-15), .688 OBP, 1.133 SLG, 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI; Maddie Houlihan, Minnesota (Big Ten Player of the Week)- .526, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, .571 OBP; Sara Groenewegen, Minnesota (Big Ten Pitcher of the Week)- 3-0, 2 SHO, 0 R, 35 K, 2 BB, 25 IP; Sam Dellinger, Creighton (BIG EAST Player of the Week)- .588, 3 HR, 8 R, 7 RBI, 1.294 SLG

This story contains spoilers for The Umbrella Academy comics and Netflix series.

With word coming that The Umbrella Academy has been renewed for a second season, we thought it would be worth revisiting some of our more popular stories about Season 1.

For more on Umbrella Academy, check out our Ending Explained feature here. Or learn all about the Umbrella Academy comics here!

Whether you’re watching the Netflix show or reading the comics, Umbrella Academy fans are dying to know the answer to one burning question: what happened to Ben Hargreeves AKA Number 6 AKA The Horror. We know he’s dead, but how?

An Unhappy Child

In the comics, the flashback scenes we do see of Ben show whipping tentacles emerging from his stomach, and we get a sense that he’s insanely powerful, but we really get no insight into what kind of personality he had as a young child.

Sir Reginald Hargreeves does mention in a personal note in the comics that #6 is “easily manipulated due to enthusiastic if naive nature.” And in Vanya’s book, she writes about The Horror, calling him “the kindest of my siblings, but he was so eager to please Father. He was easily manipulated, dragged into Father and Luther’s little games — and those two simply let him die.”

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Dr. Pogo reveals in Apocalypse Suite #5 in a diary excerpt, written during the children’s late teen years (prior to the death of The Horror) that, “None of the children want to be heroes, and none less than The Horror [00.06]. He’s only trying to please Hargreeves and Spaceboy. I suppose this is normal enough for a teenage human, but he’s not learning how to be an individual in his own right.”

We do see more of Ben’s personality displayed in the show. In flashbacks, he seems like a sad kid, reluctant to be a part of this crime-fighting team. In episode 1, we see the young Umbrella Academy respond to a bank robbery. It’s obvious that Ben does not want any part of this, but his brother #1 Luther persists. Begrudgingly, Ben goes in. And the shadows speak volumes. You hear screams, see people getting flung around, and blood splattered everywhere.

After foiling the bank robbery, the other Umbrella Academy members stand before the press beaming with pride, while Ben seems disengaged.

There’s not much to go on, so let’s really read into this. In the beginning of episode 1, we can see notes on Sir Reginald Hargreeves desk and it clearly says “Number 6 — seems to be angry” It’s hard to make out that last word, but even the rigid, emotionless Sir Hargreeves could see Ben was unhappy.

You may remember, in the comics, Pogo says none of the kids want to be heroes, but in the show, we see a different story. Besides Ben and Klaus, the rest of the Umbrella Academy seemed thrilled about using their powers and fighting crime during their childhood.

A sad, troubled child, extremely eager to please his father and brother, with a giant monster within him, that he’s internally conflicted about — sounds like a recipe for disaster.

From Pogo’s analysis and what we have seen, we can conclude that Ben wasn’t happy with himself or his situation. If your heart is not in something, you will not be performing at 100%. A half-hearted Ben could have had a tragic slip up that led to his demise.

The show drops hints about Ben’s death throughout the first episode. In the flashing family photos as the team ages, we see Ben eventually disappear. We also see a statue built in Ben’s honor with a plaque below grimly inscribed with:

“May the darkness within you find peace in the light.”

Who’s Responsible for Ben’s Death?

So what happened to Ben? We really have little to go on here. In the second issue of Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, we learn that #1 Luther AKA Spaceboy feels responsible or at least some guilt for what happened to Ben.

He’s seen with #3 Allison AKA The Rumor in front of Ben’s statue, and she says: “It wasn’t your fault, you know. I know everyone blames you for what happened to Ben. But none of us knows what really happened that day.”

Luther quickly changes the topic. And if you think that’s out of callousness, maybe not. In the comics, Luther has a robot assistant when he’s in space. The robot’s name? Ben. Perhaps Luther is paying homage to his fallen brother, trying to preserve his memory — or maybe it’s a chilling reminder of what went wrong that day, so it will never happen again.

In the comics and the show, Ben’s statue is not a child. The statue looks like a young man. And since Ben’s ghost in the show is an adult, that further backs that idea.

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We don’t see this exact scene between Luther and Allison play out in the show… but it is interesting to point out that in episode 1 when Luther and Diego (AKA #2, The Kraken) are fighting, Luther throws a punch at Diego and Luther accidentally knocks Ben’s statue off its pedestal and the head cracks off.

Luther (in the show and comics) is the de facto leader of the group. And in the first episode, it is Luther telling Ben to go into the vault. We can assume most of their missions went down like this, with Luther pushing Ben to take action that he probably did not want to.

Luther may have ordered Ben to do something that ended up taking his life. Or did Ben finally fight back with some sad result? Did Ben flee and fall into some trouble? What did Luther do? We posed this question to Umbrella Academy creator Gerard Way, and he teased that Luther may not be entirely to blame:

“I think that they all maybe have some involvement in his death,” said Way.

That changes things quite a bit. Knowing that everyone shoulders the blame for Ben’s death means that it might not be solely Luther’s fault. It could be that #1 simply feels the most responsible because he’s the team leader.

Unlike the comics, we actually get to see Ben’s ghost in the show, talking with Klaus quite a bit. Ben is kind of like Klaus’s Jiminy Cricket, trying to keep him on the straight and narrow.

When Ben is talking to Klaus, we don’t see any injuries or visible trauma. In episode 4, when Klaus talked to the dead while kidnapped by Cha-Cha and Hazel, it’s quite apparent how those people were killed. But who knows, maybe Ben’s clothing is hiding some monstrous wound we just can’t see.

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For now, the biggest clue to take away here is that perhaps the whole family was involved in Ben’s death, and whatever happened to him, it doesn’t seem like he was taken out in a traditional way. We are talking about Umbrella Academy here, with time travel, mind control, superpowers, the gamut. Ben’s cause of death seems far from normal.

But when we asked Way what actually happened to Ben, the creator remained tight-lipped. “I’m not even quite sure if I could reveal that. That’s beyond a spoiler because it has to do with the comic too and it hasn’t been revealed in the comic,” Way told IGN.

“I don’t even know what happened to Ben!” Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman admitted. So, stay tuned for a future season?

Any theories on what happened to Ben? Tell us in the comments section. And don’t forget to check out our review of The Umbrella Academy Season 1 and our Umbrella Academy explainer.

Jacki Jing is an Amazonian Super Hero Ninja wannabe by moonlight and a host/producer for IGN by daylight. Anime’s her jam and Tuxedo Mask is her main man — him, or Batman. Follow her on Twitter at @jackijing.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A Puerto Rico woman accused of hiring a hit man to kill her wealthy Canadian husband more than a decade ago was found guilty on Wednesday.

Aurea Vazquez Rijos had been charged with offering a man $3 million to kill real estate developer Adam Anhang. He was stabbed repeatedly and hit in the head with an object while walking with Vazquez through the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan in September 2005, just 12 hours after prosecutors said Anhang had asked for a divorce.

Vazquez is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2019. She will not face the death penalty, and attorneys have said they expect she will serve a life sentence in a case that sparked an international manhunt.

Defence lawyers said they would appeal the verdict.

A jury of seven men and five women also convicted Vazquez’s sister, Marcia Vazquez Rijos, and an ex-boyfriend of hers, Jose Ferrer Sosa. The main suspect, Alex Pabon Colon, pleaded guilty 10 years ago to killing Anhang and testified for the prosecution. Also testifying was a man who sued for wrongful conviction after he was convicted of killing Anhang and spent eight months in jail. He was released when Pabon was charged as federal authorities took over the case.

The victim’s father, Abraham Anhang, told The Associated Press that the verdict brought him and his family closure.

“These people thought they could get away with murder,” he said. “It’s been a long haul. They’ve been evading arrest, evading the law, evading taking responsibility and pretending they had nothing to do with it.”

Sued parents six months after he was killed

Vazquez and Anhang began dating two years before he was killed, and during that time bought her a car, an apartment and a business in Old San Juan called “The Pink Skirt.” They signed a prenup one day before getting married, with Anhang’s value estimated at more than $24 million and Vazquez’s at nearly $62,300.

Six months after Anhang was killed, Vazquez sued his parents seeking $1 million in damages and $8 million from his estate. Shortly after filing the lawsuit, she left for Florence, Italy. Once there, prosecutors said she falsified documents to prove she was Jewish and thought about moving to Israel, asking an attorney whether the country had an extradition agreement with the U.S.

Authorities arrested Vazquez in June 2013 after she flew from Italy to Spain. She and her one-month-old baby were extradited to Puerto Rico two years later, leaving behind a pair of female twins that she had with a man in Italy.

Also On HuffPost:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two more victories kept California’s Norco the clear-cut No. 1 team again this week in the USA Today Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 poll.

The (27-0) Cougars rolled past Corona, 11-3, and King, 7-0, to compete another perfect week and have Santiago — a team they defeated 6-1 on April 18 — up next later today. Norco has now outscored its opponents 191-36 this season, and has won 38 of its last 39 contests. The lone loss during that stretch was an 1-0 loss to Mater Dei in their 2016 finale — the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

There was actually no movement in the top 16 this week, with every team going unbeaten (La Cueva was idle). Oakleaf (27-2), Donovan Catholic (16-0), Londonderry (7-0) and Moniteau (14-0) all moved up one place apiece in positions 17-20, while No. 21 Stockdale (24-1) and No. 22 North Augusta (22-1-1) each advanced two spots.

Previously unranked Oshkosh North (13-2) of Wisconsin slides in as the new No. 23 team, and Kentucky schools Scott County (22-3) and Male (16-3) dropped to 24th and 25th, respectively, after both suffered their third loss. West Virginia’s Hurricane (23-3) rounds out the rankings, tied with the Bulldogs for the final spot.

State rankings submitted by NFCA member coaches are used to compile the USA Today Sports/NFCA High School Super 25.

USA Today Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 Poll – May 4, 2017

Dropped out: Lexington (Tenn.)

HALIFAX — Tens of thousand of people across the Maritimes are without power this morning after the region was lashed by strong winds and heavy rain.

New Brunswick has been the hardest hit, with NB Power reporting more than 94,000 customers in the dark after 100 km/h winds swept across the province Saturday and into today.

Wind warnings had been posted Saturday and Environment Canada said parts of the province could also expect 15 millimetres of rain.

Nova Scotia, where wind and rain warnings was also posted, was hit with similar strength gusts overnight and into this morning along the Fundy coast and over northern sections of Cape Breton.

Nova Scotia Power reported this morning that more than 18,000 of its customers were waiting to be reconnected.

All of Prince Edward Island was under a wind warning Saturday and by this morning more than 3,000 Maritime Electric customers were without power.

Nintendo is allegedly planning to launch two new versions of the Switch console, potentially as early as this summer.

A report by The Wall Street Journal claims that Nintendo has an “enhanced” variant of the Switch in development, bolstered with features “targeted at avid videogamers”. This will be joined by a cheaper option of the console for casual gamers, with the intent of it acting as a successor to the 3DS.

The enhanced version reportedly won’t be as powerful as the PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, which is unsurprising considering Nintendo’s history of hardware choices. The more casual-focused console will drop functions from the standard Switch, such as controller vibration, in order to cut costs.

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“The company judged the new Switch models won’t need the vibration feature because there wouldn’t be many games released using the full benefit of it,” claims one of The Wall Street Journal’s sources.

The story cites unnamed parts suppliers and software developers as sources, stating that the developers have access to a prototype. It also notes that Nintendo has declined to offer comment.

These unnamed sources point to a summer release date, with the story suggesting an announcement at E3 in June, followed by a retail release a few months later.

The consoles will allegedly have new designs, rather than being just higher or lower-performance hardware housed in similar-looking cases.

Refreshed consoles are not an oddity in the world of games. While Sony and Microsoft are the most familiar with the strategy, having offered slimmer and more powerful options of their hardware a few years into the console’s lifecycle, Nintendo has also had success with revisions of the DS and 3DS.

While a series of unnamed sources mean that the story cannot be confirmed, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Nintendo announce new Switch hardware. Whether or not that will be at E3 this year, we can only wait and see.

Matt Purslow is IGN UK’s News and Entertainment Writer, and hasn’t left home without his Switch since 2017. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Click:1.5 ATA Hyperbaric Chamber For Sale

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The race for the No. 1 has tightened as Florida State holds on to the top spot by the slimmest of margins in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll, announced the Association on Tuesday morning. With four programs earning first-place votes, the Seminoles (32-1-1) have a mere 10-point lead over No. 2 Florida. 

Grabbing 18 first-place votes and 778 points, FSU allowed just one run over the course of four games as it knocked off UCF (4-0) and swept a three-game ACC road series at Virginia (13-1, 8-0, 10-0)  to extend its winning streak to 18 and undefeated streak 23 games.

No. 2 Florida and No. 3 Oregon each earned six first-place votes and 768 and 745 points, respectively. The Gators (29-1) extended their winning streak to 21 games with three victories last week over USF (8-0) and the first two contests against then-No. 4 Auburn (4-3, 7-0). The Ducks (29-0) continued as the lone undefeated squad defeating then-No. 11 Utah on the road in the first two games of their Pac-12 series.

Arizona, who garnered the final two first-place votes and 712 points, picked up a big Pac-12 series sweep of then-No. 6 Washington (3-0, 12-0, 5-2). The Wildcats (32-1) held one of the top offenses to just two runs as they extended their winning streak to 17 games.

Minnesota swept Nebraska on the road to moved up to No. 6, while Texas A&M stayed put at No. 7. The Huskies (26-6) fell two spots to No. 8. No. 9 Alabama took two-of-three from South Carolina. LSU rejoined the top-10 at No. 10 following four wins, including a three-game home sweep of then-No. 16 Georgia.

After a one-week absence, BYU returns at No. 25, while Cal Poly fell out of the No. 25 position.

The 2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference.  Records reflect games played through March 26.

2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll
Week 7 – March 28, 2017

Dropped Out: No. 25 Cal Poly (24-8)

New to Poll: No. 25 BYU

Receiving Votes: California (40), South Carolina (20), Ohio State (20), Cal Poly (16), Marshall (13), North Carolina (12), Florida International (10), Missouri (9), Tulsa (6), Oklahoma State (4), Texas State (2), Illinois (1), St. Francis (Pa.) (1).

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. 

OTTAWA — As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau boasted in Ottawa on Monday that his government had secured a trade deal without capitulating to the Americans, his man at the United Nations was, for the first time, making the case that Canada deserves a spot on the Security Council.

If elected to the UN’s most important decision-making body, Ambassador Marc-André Blanchard said, Canada would bring to bear its long-standing dedication to peacekeeping, it would work to tackle climate change and violent extremism, and promote economic security and the empowerment of women and girls.

Canada, he said, would also champion UN reforms to ensure inclusion, accountability and transparency in the organization’s deliberations.

Blanchard twice referred to the prime minister, trumpeting his leadership on the world stage. He said Trudeau had spearheaded efforts to find new ways to finance development and had raised more than $3.8 billion to reduce barriers for women and girls to access education in fragile and conflict states.

Watch: Why Canada wants UN Security Council seat

Blanchard, who stepped in to replace Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland after she swapped spots Saturday to be in Ottawa as NAFTA negotiations heated up, alluded to Canada’s long history with the United Nations.

Canada was among the drafters of UN declaration on human rights, it was instrumental in setting up peacekeeping operations, and helped set up institutions at the rules-based order, he said, as he signalled an openness to reform and said institutions should be not impervious to change.

With a nod to smaller, less wealthy nations, Blanchard noted that the benefits of rules-based system had not been evenly distributed.

“Too many remain excluded economically, socially and political, from the decision-making that affects their lives,” he said.

Blanchard touched on issues designed to strike a chord with member states whose vote Canada needs.

Calling climate change — which is an existential threat for many island nations — “the defining issue of our time,” he quoted Trudeau in saying: “Developing countries should not be punished for a problem they did not create, nor should they be deprived the opportunities for clean growth that developed nations are now pursuing.”

He called on the General Assembly to “all support Africa” as it works to create opportunities for its youth and to reduce inequalities.

Blanchard made reference to Canada multicultural cities and to Canada’s welcoming of 50,000 Syrian refugees over the past three years but was careful to note that other countries had accepted many more.

Canada isn’t perfect, he acknowledged, saying it still has challenges to overcome, the most important being reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

“We are confident that we can contribute to effective, carefully considered global responses,” he told the sparsely populated room as delegates of Germany and India looked on. “We have a proven record of working with other member states to bring fresh ideas and innovative approaches to tackle complex problems, from peacekeeping and policing to peacebuilding and transition.”

Canada is campaigning for one of two seats reserved for what’s referred to as the Western bloc on the Security Council in 2021-2022. The vote takes place in 2020, but Canada is already late to the game, those familiar with the process say.

“The biggest problem the government faces is time,” Paul Heinbecker, Canada’s last ambassador to sit on the Security Council, in 2000, told HuffPost Canada’s political podcast “Follow-Up.”

Adam Chapnick, a professor of defence studies at the Canadian Forces college, notes that Norway and Ireland — Canada’s challengers — started campaigning years before Trudeau announced in 2016 that he wanted the seat in 2021.

“We are campaigning from behind, which we have never done before,” he said.

In order to win a seat, a country needs to receive the backing of two-thirds of the General Assembly. There are 193 member states eligible to vote.

In 2010, when Canada lost a bid to sit on the Security Council, it faced off against Germany (which won in the first round) and Portugal (which won in the third round). Canada withdrew from the race after the ballots had been cast, saving the country the embarrassment of losing with only 32 votes.

Former Liberal cabinet minister Allan Rock, who served as UN ambassador from 2003 to mid-2006, notes that the vote is secret and sometimes countries that say they will vote for you don’t. He believes many nations decided they didn’t like the Conservatives’ policies — the closing of some embassies, the reduction in international aid, and especially the close support of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Israel.

“I really think it was a global judgment on the foreign policy of Stephen Harper’s government, and one that was richly deserved,” he said.

“The Palestinian question is a real fault line that runs through the whole UN system, and you stand on either one or the other side of that divide,” he added.

Canada started aligning its Middle East votes closer to Israel and the United States under Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, a trend that continued under Harper and hasn’t much changed under Trudeau.

But when asked if he thought Canada’s pro-Israel voting record would hurt its chances this time, Blanchard told HuffPost Canada that he didn’t think so.

LISTEN: HuffPost Canada’s “Follow-Up” podcast explores Canada’s UNSC bid

“We always said they would not trade in our values and policies to be elected on the Security Council,” he said, noting that countries vote on a whole range of issues.

Canada’s best asset in the race, he told HuffPost, is the prime minister.

“Mr. Trudeau is perceived as a very inspiring leader, someone who can be trusted and someone who has very strong values and a voice that is so needed at this time,” he said from New York in a phone interview over the weekend.

During his photo-ops and bilateral meetings last week at the United Nations, Colombian President Iván Duque, for example, praised Trudeau, telling reporters he wanted to express his “admiration” for the prime minister’s work, noted they were both progressives of the same generation, then gave him a yellow soccer jersey with his name on it.

But Richard Gowan, a senior fellow at the UN University’s independent think tank, the Centre for Policy Research, said he thinks the Canadian mission should “ration the use” of the prime minister.

‘There’s a risk of overkill with Trudeau’

“There’s a risk of overkill with Trudeau,” he told HuffPost. “He is a great performer… . Other leaders do like him, but there is sometimes the sense that he risks a bit of a cult of personality, and actually diplomats can resent that.”

Chapnick said he thought Canada’s foreign policy should show “significantly more humility.”

“Canadian governments for the last 20 or 30 years have been rather obsessed with the need to lead on the world stage,” he said. “We have to lead environmentally, we have to lead on gender … but pushing yourself into a leadership position when you may not be best suited for it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

He said it is important for Canada to allow other states to get “credit.”

The big challenge for Canada, according to Gowan, is that it faces off against two like-minded countries: Ireland and Norway.

“Dublin has always maintained very good relations with developing countries and, to some extent, presents Ireland as a, you know, another former colony that has a special link to former colonies in Africa, Asia and elsewhere,” Gowan said.

Heinbecker called Norway — which gives one per cent of its GDP to international aid and has spearheaded some of the thorniest peace processes, in the Middle East, Colombia, Sri Lanka and South Sudan, for example — the “poster boy for the UN.”

“When we say, ‘We’re back,’ they say they’ve never left.”

Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy, who also spoke with HuffPost’s “Follow-Up” podcast, said there is a “chance” Canada might win.

“It’s a very tough competition,” he said. But Canada, he said, generally has good standing at the UN, is not seen as a threat to anybody, and commitments on gender equality and a new peacekeeping presence in Mali — the most dangerous current UN peacekeeping mission — would be a “big plus.”

Yves Fortier, who was Canada’s UN ambassador under Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney from 1988 to 1991, said he thinks Canada as a “very good chance of being elected. Definitely.”

“If you look at Canada’s record now over the course of the last nearly 70 years, we can put our record up against that of Ireland and that of Norway,” he said.

In his speech, Blanchard stressed Canada’s commitment to peacekeeping, saying how proud it was to lead the Elsie Initiative to help double the number of women in peacekeeping.

“We also know that having woman in the ranks and in charge makes peacekeeping more effective and its results more durable,” he said.

The Commons defence committee, however, heard testimony last month from Bipasha Baruah, the Canada Research Chair in Global Women’s Issues at Western University, who told MPs there are no data to suggest women have made a tangible difference on the ground and said it wasn’t fair to place that burden on them.

Stakes high for Trudeau

“What really troubles me [is] how women were being curated and packaged,” she told HuffPost. “As if … you would be able to solve the institutional problems. That is not true … issues require much deeper reflection.”

Axworthy said he felt that Canada’s relationship with the United States and the ongoing NAFTA negotiations had overtaken Canada’s foreign policy since President Donald Trump’s election.

He expressed hope that once NAFTA — or the new USMCA — was done, the government might turn its attention to more of the issues Trudeau had championed before Trump’s election, namely the world refugee crisis.

Gowan stressed that the stakes for Trudeau are high.

“Everyone is conscious that Canada lost its last race for the Security Council,” he said. “Now, you can lose one race, but if Canada loses two Security Council races in succession, I think that we’ll know that will be bad for Ottawa’s relations with the UN going forward.”