Hockey Canada has announced the 20 players that will be part of Canada’s National Para Hockey Team during the 2019-20 season.
The roster includes 18 players who have previously donned the Canadian jersey, including 14 who earned a silver medal last spring at the 2019 IPC World Para Hockey Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic (Armstrong, Bridges, Cozzolino, Crane, Dunn, Henry, Hickey, Larocque, Lavin, Lehoux, McGregor, Smith, Watson, Westlake), and two players who will be national team rookies (Halbert, Sison).
Canada’s National Para Hockey Team for the 2019-20 season includes:
- Goaltenders Dominic Larocque (Quebec City) and Corbin Watson (Kingsville, Ont.)
- Defencemen Rod Crane (Clarksburg, Ont.), Tyrone Henry (Ottawa), Liam Hickey (St. John’s, N.L.), Micah Kovacevich (Edmonton) Branden Sison (Edmonton), and Greg Westlake (Oakville, Ont.).
- Forwards Rob Armstrong (Mississauga, Ont.), Alexis Auclair (Saint- Hyacinthe, Que.), Billy Bridges (Summerside, P.E.I.), Dominic Cozzolino (Mississauga, Ont.), Cody Dolan (Calgary), James Dunn (Wallacetown, Ont.), Auren Halbert (Calgary), Anton Jacobs-Webb (Gatineau, Que.), Zach Lavin (Okotoks, Alta.), Antoine Lehoux (Thetford Mines, Que.), Tyler McGregor (Forest, Ont.) and Corbyn Smith (Monkton, Ont.)
“We’re excited about the group of players we have named to Team Canada,” said head coach Ken Babey (Saskatoon, Sask.). “The level of competition during selection camp was high, and we knew coming in there would be tough decisions ahead of us. I think it’s a great mix of skill, speed and experience, and we’re looking forward to getting the season going.”
After a week of on-and off-ice sessions at selection camp that included practices, fitness testing, lectures, workshops, intrasquad games and match-ups against Japan’s national team, Babey selected the roster with support from assistant coaches Mike Foligno (Sudbury, Ont.) and Mike Fountain (Gravenhurst, Ont.), along with Hockey Canada’s management group.
Next up, players will participate in training and regional camps before a roster is named for the 2019 Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup, Dec. 1-7 in Paradise, N.L.
