Eighteen athletes have been named to the Canadian Under-21 Men’s National Team set to compete in the Junior Men’s Pan American Championship – a 2016 Junior Men’s World Cup qualifier – from May 20th to 28th in Toronto, Canada.
The top two finishers at the tournament will earn a spot at the 2016 Junior Men’s World Cup to be played in India from December 1st-11th this year.
The Canadian team features five athletes who won a silver medal for Canada in the Under-18 field hockey competition at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China: Amrit Sidhu, Balraj Panesar, Brandon Pereira, Floyd Mascarenhas, and Harbir Sidhu.
In addition to being a part of the Canadian Men’s Junior Development Squad, three athletes from the Pan Am roster (A.Sidhu, Panesar, H.Sidhu) are also a part of the Senior Development Squad and have trained with Canada’s Senior National Team.
Panesar – whose older brother Sukhi is a part of the Senior National Team – has also played in three senior international matches for Canada.
Canada’s Pan Am team is coached by Inderpal Sehmbi, who coached the Under-18 men to the silver medal in China in 2014 and has overseen the training and selection process. Prior to taking over the Under-21 program for this year, he was an assistant coach for five years.
The men have been centralized in Vancouver since the beginning of February training full-time on and off the field in preparation for the Pan American Championship.
At the Junior Pan Ams, Canada plays in Pool B with Chile, Guyana, and Mexico. Canada will play each team in its pool once before a one-game quarterfinal, which takes place on May 25.
The Canadians play their first match on May 20 against Mexico at 2:30pm PT/5:30pm ET.
Follow Field Hockey Canada on Twitter and fieldhockey.ca, as well as the Pan American Hockey Federation channels for tournament updates.
For Canada’s full tournament schedule and scores, click here.
Canadian Junior Men’s National Team – 2016 Junior Pan American Championship
| Name | Position | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Amardeep Sidhu | Defender | Victoria, BC |
| Amrit Sidhu | Forward | Abbotsford, BC |
| Balraj Panesar* | Midfielder | Surrey, BC |
| Brandon Pereira* | Defender | Surrey, BC |
| Cameron Bonney | Goalkeeper | Port Coquitlam, BC |
| Fin Boothroyd | Forward | West Vancouver, BC |
| Floyd Mascarenhas | Defender | Mississauga, ON |
| Ganga Singh | Defender | Toronto, ON |
| Harbir Sidhu | Midfielder | Victoria, BC |
| Iqwinder Gill | Goalkeeper | Surrey, BC |
| Jamie Wallace | Midfielder | Vancouver, BC |
| Johnny Gill | Midfielder | Surrey, BC |
| Kabir Aujla | Forward | Surrey, BC |
| Rajan Kahlon | Defender | Vancouver, BC |
| Rohan Chopra | Forward | Ottawa, ON |
| Satbir Brar | Defender | Surrey, BC |
| Shahbaaz Dhaliwal | Forward | Surrey, BC |
| Thomson Harris | Midfielder | Vancouver, BC |
Staff – 2016 Junior Pan American Championship
Head Coach – Inderpal Sehmbi
Assistant Coach – Geoff Matthews
Team Manager – Alisa Carey
Athletic Therapist – Jen Mark
