TORONTO – October 12 – On behalf of the National Ball Hockey Association of Canada and the High Performance Committee we are proud to announce the 2014 Junior Team Canada rosters for the World Junior Championships to be held in Budapest, Hungary in late June 2014. At the past three major international competitions Canada has captured seven gold medals, one bronze and one silver since 2008.
The Junior Team Canada Program will be sending 66 players along with staff members to Budapest, Hungary to capture the gold in all three divisions of play.
The Junior Team Canada staff was very busy in 2013 scouting various events. Thorough scouting of the Provincial Peewee, Bantam and Junior Championships, National Tier II & III, Canada Cup and Junior Nationals led to the selections of all three teams. For the 22 player team rosters, fifteen (U20 – 7 & U18 - 8) are returning from the 2012 U-16 & U-18 World Champion¬ship teams. These players with international experience will be a good foundation in preparing for this high level tournament. All three player rosters were selected, not just on high calibre skills, but for their personalities and community backgrounds as well.
High Performance Director, Steve Dockerty, who was heavily responsible for the restructuring which took place in the international program stated, “our squads will definitely be competing for the gold again. Even though our members were a part of the teams that won double gold in 2012 (U18 & U20), the NBHAC has been working hard to improve the program. We want players that will be part of the Team Canada family for years to come. The High Performance Program has been established to create continuity consisting of strong individuals across the country with involvement in the various national teams at the adult levels.
Dockerty continued about the coaching staff, we have such a strong group of coaches, with Barry Greer, Harvey Boutilier, Matt Paul coaching U20; and Scott Jacobi, Jason Mallais, Tyler Mc Clure coaching U18 and Chris Carr, Nelson Lajeunesse and James Mentis coaching U16 as head coaches of their respective teams all have international experience as coaches and players and all have strong technical backgrounds who will lead these young men.
In addition to these coaches, the program strives to set a standard to bring back and integrate alumni as mentors and return Matthew Paul to the U20 team who will also be an assistant coach, Marc Parravano to the U18 squad and Denver Greer to the U16 and these three will be an extension of the coaching staff.
Commenting on the goal of the 2014 teams Dockerty adds, “we have a Mission Statement - To prepare and assemble a team of junior ball hockey players from Canada to compete for gold at the WJC. To field a team that sets extraor¬dinary standards for competitiveness, sportsmanship and team continuity. To create a ‘life experience’ for members of JTC and officials.” Dockerty added, “that truly is our goal, to compete for gold, but also to set exceptional standards for the players and team officials.
Ball Hockey is an amazing sport and these young men are truly fortunate to have the opportunity to compete with the best in the world and absorb the culture of Eastern European cities.” Dockerty concluded with “The ultimate goal is to ensure each player has a life experience that he can take with him for years to come.”
The association’s President, Steve Rumsey, was pleased with the scouting, selec¬tion and acceptance of the players chosen for the clubs.
Rumsey has been a part of junior ball hockey for over thirty years and attended the 2008 and 2012 events as a fan. “It is not only what will take place on the floor for these young individuals, as most will be visit¬ing Hungary for the first time in their lives, it will be the culture they will encounter,” said Rumsey. “As these young men grow up and have families it won’t be the medals that they come home with that will be mostly remembered, it will be the experience of visiting this part of the world, and we as management, coaches and mentors want to make sure it truly is a trip of a lifetime for them” added Rumsey.
“Having spoken to all members of the coaching staffs throughout this process, I am confident that the work that they have put in will translate into a highly satisfying trip along with a good showing on the floor.” said Rumsey. “In the last three international competitions the staff thought out all the little things and planned accordingly because once you start traveling with 66 players plus staff in a short period of time through major European cities, it all has to run smoothly from start to finish in order for these players to produce on the floor.” added Rumsey.
People that tend to be missed in these types of announcements are the local coaches, associations and family members that have helped the players get to this level, along with these individuals all those that scouted for Junior Team Canada at regional and national events should take pride in this team, as they too played a big part in the team composition.
“On behalf of the National Ball Hockey Association of Canada, I would like to congratu¬late the players and staff named today, along with their provincial associations, leagues, club teams, families, coaches and officials who have helped them along the way,” said Steve Rumsey, NBHAC President. With that said, it is with great pride that we present you the 2014 Junior Team Canada players & staff:
High Performance Director – Steve Dockerty; U20 Head Coach, Barry Greer, Assistant Coach, Harvey Boutilier, Assistant Coach/Mentor: Matthew Paul, U18 Head Coach: Barry Greer, Assistant Coaches: Tyler Mc Clure & Jason Mallais, Mentor: Marc Parravano; U16 Head Coach: Chris Carr, Assistant Coaches, Nelson Lajeunesse, James Mentis, Mentor: Denver Greer
The U16 Team ~ Goalies: Ruan Badenhorst, Thomas Mitchell ~ Defenseman: Ryan Barbosa, Riley Bonin, Theodore Christou, Kyle Coleman, Jared Elliott, Kyle Linney, Tyler Nother, Jack Sterritt ~ Forward: Mitch Byrnes, William Calverley, Zac Carr, Jordan Crocker, Braedan Dorion, Austin Labelle, Brodie Maracle, Brett Neumann, Ryan Sallows, Giovanni Smith, Andrew Snowden, Daniel Tsiampais.
The U18 Team ~ Goalies: Mike Masucci, Tyler Richardson ~ Defenseman: Maurizio Colella, Domenic Depalma, Danny Fillatre, Liam Hayes, Nick Heins, Gianluca Pallotta, Jacob Panetta, Bailey Watkins ~ Forwards: Stephen Alvo, Patrick Arangio, Benoit Chin, Noah Delmas, Ryan Franks, Christian Petrozza, Jack Scanlan, Lucas Smilsky, Quinn Syrydiuk, Max White, Conner Whiteside, Derrick Wong
The U20 Team ~ Goalies: Peter Angenent, Matthew Hall ~ Defensemen: Hayden Cole, Matt Depersiis, Hunter Fargey, Brendan Fetting, Graham Haley, Matthew Lemasure, John Ohara ~ Forwards: Brendan Alward, Eric Dol, Brandon Frandsen, Marcus Hinds, Cameron Nicoll, Justin Maiolino, Marcel Mallais, Tre Mentis, Jessey Moreau, Michael Paul, Zachary Skubnik, Gemel Smith, Myles York
Your Passion…Your Dedication…Play Like A Champion…Play Like Team Canada…Commit To The Culture of Excellence….We Are Canada