Junior Men travel to Malaysia for Sultan of Johor Cup

U21 National Team seize great competition opportunity in Malaysia

In the spring, Field Hockey Canada’s Junior Men’s National Team had six wins and two losses (only to Argentina) at the Junior Pan American Championships in Santiago, Chile, and won a silver medal. By so doing, the Canadian Young Bucks qualified for the 2027 Junior World Cup.

This week the team is in Malaysia for the Sultan of Johor Cup, a marquee junior tournament, and a preparation event for the Junior World Cup. This event comes off the heels of a successful men’s NextGen camp and junior centralization period where over 50 NextGen-aged men gathered in Vancouver.

Click here for Sultan of Johor Cup Schedule

14 of the 18 players return from that Junior Pan American roster, with three new additions to the lineup. Sam Hoad, Gursehaj Johal and Ryan McKibbin will all be receiving their first junior national team cap at this tournament. Many of the rostered players will remain of-age in 2027 as the team approaches the Junior World Cup.

Junior Men’s National Team head coach Geoff Matthews said Sultan of Johor is a top-level junior tournament and will offer a different style of play than Canada typically experiences at the continental tournaments. Outside of the Junior World Cup, Canada doesn’t get to face this type of opponent regularly, making it a great opportunity for the team.

“We’ve been fortunate to be invited to play in this tournament. Going to Malaysia to play in the heat is something we need to do to prepare for the Junior World Cup,” Matthews said. “From a competition point of view, we don’t play too many teams ranked inside the top 20, outside of Argentina. Going to this tournament where there are teams ranked between 10-18, it will really show if we can compete at this level. These are the games we have to start to win.”

Calgary’s Josiah Campbell is an experienced junior national team player, making his debut at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games and playing at the Junior World Cup and Junior Pan American Championships since then. Looking forward to the Sultan of Johor Cup starting this weekend, Campbell said the team is excited to get a variety of opponents in Malaysia.

“The guys are really excited to start the tournament. The Asian teams that we’ll play [at the Sultan of Johor Cup] aren’t very similar to those at Pan Ams,” Campbell said.  “There are some really high-pace teams that are good technically, like Pakistan and China. More exposure against teams like this will prepare us well for the bigger tournaments like the Junior World Cup.”

The tournament features five teams (Canada, Malaysia, China, Pakistan and Japan). Canada plays the host, Malaysia in prime time at 7:35pm local time on Friday, October 23. The top four finishers in pool play will advance to the medal matches. Stay tuned via Field Hockey Canada social media and website during the tournament.

• FIELD HOCKEY CANADA INSTAGRAM
• JUNIOR MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM INSTAGRAM

Follow the tournament on the Field Hockey Canada tournament page

TEAM CANADA ROSTER

Photos/Blair Shier