After the Canadian Men’s Indoor National Team qualified for the 2015 Indoor World Cup in Leipzig, Germany with a Pan Am Cup gold medal this past spring, the focus quickly shifted to preparing for the tournament next February.
A primary squad has been chosen, along with a secondary “A squad,” with final selection of the roster going to Germany to come in the coming months.
But prior to being able to chose the final athletes who will represent Canada on the world stage, the teams need high-level competition to test their mettle.
The first of this competition will come in the form of a 3-Nations tournament to be hosted in Mississauga, Ontario, October 11-13th at the Hershey Centre Sports Zone.
The Canadian primary squad and A-squads will welcome Argentina and South Africa to Canada for the four-team test tournament.
“Competition is always an important element of any preparation phase,” says Men’s Indoor head coach Louis Mendonca. “We have been training some of our deficiencies that we have identified from the Pan Am Cup, and added some tactical elements.”
“This opportunity allows us to monitor are progress against some world-class competition and evaluate move forward.”
Canada finished 10th at the 2011 Indoor World Cup, while the Australian finished 7th. South Africa did not compete in that tournament but has been on the rise as a hockey nation in recent years.
“South Africa and Argentina are both very good hockey playing countries,” adds Mendonca. “The competition will formidable.”
The 3-Nations tournament serves as key preparation for the World Cup, it also gives Canadian coaching staff a chance to evaluate what they have in terms of talent coming up the pipeline.
“Although we are focused on the World Cup, we have not lost sight of the future,” says Mendonca. “Our second squad is quite young and the exposure and experience they attain at this event, hopefully will help at future indoors and outdoor Pan American and World cup competitions.”
With the Indoor World Cup around the corner, 2016 Olympic and future World Cup qualification coming up, this experience is invaluable.
After the 3-Nations tournament Canada will continue training and hopes to head to Europe for more test competition prior to the World Cup in February.
Tickets to the entire 3-Nations tournament can be purchased for $20 or $5 per session.
For more information contact:
- Jeewan – 416-518-7187
- Ken – 416-420-8896
- Jonathan – 416-986-3592
