CALGARY, Alberta – With less
than a month until the puck drops, Hockey Canada has announced the 17
players who will wear the Maple Leaf with
Canada’s National Para Hockey Team
and compete for a gold medal at the 2025 World Para Hockey Championship,
May 24-31
at LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York.
The roster – two goaltenders, six defencemen and nine forwards - was
selected by head coach Russ Herrington (Unionville, ON),
assistant coaches
Steve Arsenault (Spruce Grove, AB), Mike Fountain (Gravenhurst, ON),
Liam Heelis (Georgetown, ON),
Boris Rybalka (Vernon, BC) and Greg Westlake
(Oakville, ON). Benoit Roy (Sudbury, ON), director
of hockey operations, and Adam Janssen (Richmond Hill, ON)
, manager of hockey operations, also provided input.
“Entering the World Championship as the defending champions is not
something we take lightly,” said Herrington. “We know that
every country will bring their best against us. As a group we have
continued to grow and develop over the last year, from the Para Cup to the
USA series. This roster has a ton of experience on the big stage, and we
are excited to get going.”
The roster includes 16 players who helped Canada win a gold medal at the
2024 World Para Hockey Championship in Calgary
(Armstrong, Boily, Burnett, Cozzolino, Dixon, Dunn, Halbert, Henry,
Hickey, Jacobs-Webb, Kingsmill, Kovacevich, Lavin, Lelièvre, McGregor,
Watson)
.
Canada will be joined by China, Germany and Korea in Group A, while Group B
features Czechia, Norway, Slovakia and the United States.
Canada opens its preliminary-round schedule on May 24 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT
against Germany and will face Korea on May 25 and China on May 27. The
quarterfinals are set for May 28, followed by the semifinals on May 30 and
the medal games on May 31.
All 20 tournament games will be available for free via livestream at
USAHockeyTV.com
.
Hockey Canada also announced the support staff that will travel to Buffalo:
-
Equipment manager AJ Murley (St. John’s, NL)
- Athletic therapist Tracy Meloche (Essex, ON)
-
Physiotherapist Michael Lenart (Keswick, ON)
-
Team physician Dr. Danielle Kelton (Guelph, ON)
- Senior coordinator, operations Reid Folk (Stoughton, SK)
- Hockey operations coordinator
Jake Grison (Lion’s Head, ON)
- Communications coordinator Branden Crowe (Virden, MB)
Canada has captured five gold medals at Para Worlds (2000, 2008, 2013, 2017,
2024), in addition to four silver (2015, 2019, 2021, 2023) and three bronze
(1996, 2009, 2012).
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Para Hockey
Team, please visit
HockeyCanada.ca
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