Returning players highlight Canada’s sledge hockey team

“Our objective is to put the best players on the ice to be able to win gold at all of the competitions this year"

Hockey Canada has selected 20 players to Canada’s National Sledge Team for the 2015-16 season following a week-long selection camp at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport's Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

Canada’s National Sledge Team will be competing in several international tournaments this season, including the 2016 World Sledge Hockey Challenge from 17-23 January at the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre in Bridgewater.

The two goaltenders, six defencemen and 12 forwards were selected by head coach Ken Babey, assistant coaches Milan Dragicevic, Jean Labonté, Hervé Lord, and Brandon Reid, along with Shawn Bullock, senior manager of hockey operations and men’s national teams for Hockey Canada.

The roster includes 15 players who helped Canada win a silver medal at the 2015 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship in Buffalo, USA, (Steve Arsenault, Kieron Block, Brad Bowden, Billy Bridges, Ben Delaney, Adam Dixon, Marc Dorion, James Gemmell, Dominic Larocque, Tyler McGregor, Bryan Sholomicki, Kevin Sorley, Corbin Watson, Greg Westlake, Derek Whitson).

Five players – defensemen Rob Armstrong, Tyrone Henry, and forwards Dominic Cozzolino, Liam Hickey, and Mathieu Trudeau – make their debut as part of Canada’s National Sledge Team this season.

“Our objective is to put the best players on the ice to be able to win gold at all of the competitions this year. With all of the players attending the development camp last month, everyone came to camp ready to battle for a position, and we feel we have built the best team for the upcoming year,” said Babey. “These decisions are always hard to make, which is a great sign of the depth in our country.”

The team will announce its roster for a competition against Norway, Italy and South Korea in Torino, Italy from 7-12 December, following upcoming training camps slated for Toronto and Ottawa this autumn.