Canada announces roster for seven-game test series against India

October 5, 2009

Rob Short Photo: FIH / Gordon Morrison

Field Hockey Canada (FHC) and Head-Coach Alan Brahmst announced on Sunday the names of the players who will represent Canada in the seven-game test series against India, scheduled from October 9 to 24 in Victoria and Surrey, British Columbia.

Canada, the current Pan American Champions, and India are actively preparing for the 2010 World Cup to be played in March 2010 in Delhi, India.

Both teams have selected 22 players and will name 16 for each game.

The Canadian team will be led by veterans Ken Pereira and Rob Short, who both have played 288 international matches and are on their way to reach, possibly together, the mythical landmark of 300 international “Caps” attained by few players on the international scene.

The Canadian team has kept a strong core of 2008 Olympians, including Wayne Fernandes, Scott Sandison, Ranjeev Deol, Connor Grimes, Scott Tupper, Gabbar Singh and Mark Pearson. The defense will have to cope without the solid presence and leadership of Paul Wettlaufer, recovering from ankle surgery, but will be backstopped by young goalkeeper David Carter, named Goalkeeper of the Tournament for his first major international exposure at the recent Pan American Cup in Santiago, Chile.

With the ongoing objective of introducing youth on his squad, Alan Brahmst has included 3 players under the age of 20, with 2 of them, Adam Froese and Keegan Pereira, looking to make their debut for Canada during the Series. Also named to the team is Taylor Curran, who got his first cap in Russia earlier in the year at the age of 17.

“A 7-test series is certainly unique”, says Alan Brahmst. “It offers us a framework to test different combinations of players and to trial different tactical concepts. It is also ideal to integrate younger players and work from a larger pool of players instead of being restricted by the standard practice of traveling with 18 players”

“The Indian team has a special place in the field hockey world and matches involving the Indian team are always eagerly awaited by the fans around the world”, says Connor Grimes, from Duncan, BC. “It is very exciting for us to play such a high level series at home, in front of our friends and family, and bring high level hockey to all the sport fans in British Columbia”. 

The games will be played on October 9 and 11 in Victoria and on October 14, 16, 18, 22 and 24 in Surrey. Tickets, as well as more detail on the location and time, are available on the Field Hockey Canada web site @ https://www.fieldhockey.ca and on the special event web site @ http://www.7testsuperseries.ca.

The Canadian team is currently in training camp at the University of British Columbia and will move to Victoria on Wednesday.

After this seven-game series against India, the Canadian Team will continue its preparation for the 2010 World Cup with a four-game test series against the USA (finalists of the recent Pan American Cup) at the end of October in Vancouver, and will wrap-up the year mid-December in Argentina with the Champions Challenge, an elite competition organized by the International federation for the teams ranked 7 to 14 in the world.

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