Calgary 2024: Get to Know Canada

The 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championships A-Pool will take place from 4-12 May at WinSport Arenas in Calgary, Canada. The event will feature the top eight teams in the world: USA, Canada, Czechia, China, South Korea, Italy, Japan, and Slovakia. The tournament will be played in a round-robin format with the teams split into two groups, followed by the playoff round, culminating with the gold-medal game on 12 May.

Background

Playing host to the World Championships for the second consecutive year, Canada is looking to end the tournament on top of the podium after three straight runner-up finishers. Canada lost to arch-rival USA, 6-1, in the gold-medal contest last year and has finished on the podium in all but one of its 12 World Championship appearances. Twelve of the 17 players on Canada’s roster return from last season’s silver-medal run, while Russ Herrington will return as the head coach for the second time and former star skater Greg Westlake will serve as an assistant coach.

World Championships History

2023: Silver (A-Pool)
2021: Silver (A-Pool)
2019: Silver (A-Pool)
2017: Gold (A-Pool)
2015: Silver (A-Pool)
2013: Gold (A-Pool)
2012: Bronze (A-Pool)
2009: Bronze (A-Pool)
2008: Gold (A-Pool)
2004: 4th place (A-Pool)
2000: Gold (A-Pool)
1996: Bronze (A-Pool)

Athlete to Watch

Dominic Cozzolino has skated with Team Canada since 2017, and at last year’s World Championships had a breakout tournament, leading the squad with six goals to go along with his four assists. The forward from Ontario was previously an able-bodied hockey player before a life changing spinal-injury at age 14.

Matchup to Watch: Czechia vs. Canada on 7 May

One of last year’s most thrilling contests was Canada’s one-goal win over Czechia in the preliminary round. Both of these teams are skating for podium spots and have become familiar with each other over the years. This will be their final game of the preliminary round in Calgary.