Field Hockey Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Canada’s men’s field hockey team nominated to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The team qualified by defeating Ireland in a two-game series in West Vancouver in October 2019. The thrilling qualifying series on home soil came down to a sudden-death shootout that resulted in Canada securing the win and the berth for Tokyo 2020.
It has been 20 months since that qualifying moment. This is the first time the Men’s National Team has qualified for back-to-back Olympic Games since competing at Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988. Tokyo 2020 will be team captain Scott Tupper’s and veteran, Mark Pearson’s third Olympic Games following their appearances with the team at Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016.
“Personally, to be able to compete in a third Olympics is definitely something I’m incredibly proud of and excited for,” Tupper said. “Anytime you get to represent your country, it’s a huge honour. I cherish my Olympic experiences and am looking forward to this year’s Games.”
Canada’s pool includes the top four competitors from June’s European Hockey Championship and Commonwealth rival South Africa. Tupper expects his team to rise to the occasion and play their best hockey when it matters.
“Although the Olympic experience will be different this time around, I fully expect the Olympic competition to be just as fierce as ever,” he said. “Whether there are fans or not, it’s still the best teams in the world competing for medals. We’ll have our fans cheering us on from back home and we’re really looking forward to testing ourselves against the best in the world. I expect us to be competitive in every game and fighting for points at every moment.”
This year’s team features eight athletes returning from the Rio 2016 roster and eight first-time Olympians.
“Having that experience of going through a major Games or two is really important. We’ve been through it all before so we know what to expect,” he added. “With that said, it’s also really nice to have that young injection of energy and youth. They are wide-eyed and seeing things for the first time. That fresh attitude can remind us how truly amazing this experience is. I think striking that balance is great for our team.”
The Olympic men’s field hockey competition will take place July 24 to August 5 (Day 1 to Day 13) at the Oi Hockey Stadium.
“I remember the incredible victory that this team achieved to qualify for these Olympics; it was electrifying,” said Team Canada’s Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission, Marnie McBean. “I can’t wait to see that kind of intensity and energy again from them in Tokyo!”
PLAYER NAME | HOMETOWN | POS. | CLUB | CAPS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Antoni Kindler | Vancouver, BC | GK | West Vancouver FHC | 98 |
Brendan Guraliuk | Tsawwassen, BC | MID | UBC | 7 |
Brenden Bissett | New Westminster, BC | DEF | Vancouver Hawks | 139 |
Fin Boothroyd | West Vancouver, BC | FWD | UBC | 23 |
Floris van Son | Amsterdam, Netherlands | MID | AMVJ | 35 |
Gabriel Ho-Garcia | Burnaby, BC | MID | Burnaby Lakers | 133 |
Gordon Johnston | Vancouver, BC | DEF | Vancouver Hawks | 179 |
James Kirkpatrick | Victoria, BC | DEF | West Vancouver FHC | 100 |
Jamie Wallace | Vancouver, BC | FWD | UBC | 46 |
John Smythe | Vancouver, BC | DEF | Vancouver Hawks | 121 |
Keegan Pereira | Pickering, ON | FWD | India Club | 182 |
Mark Pearson | Tsawwassen, BC | FWD | West Vancouver FHC | 277 |
Matthew Sarmento | Vancouver, BC | FWD | Vancouver Hawks | 121 |
Oliver Scholfield | Vancouver, BC | MID | Vancouver Hawks | 71 |
Scott Tupper | Vancouver, BC | DEF | West Vancouver FHC | 315 |
Sukhi Panesar | Surrey, BC | MID | United Brothers | 151 |
TRAVELING RESERVES | ||||
Taylor Curran | North Vancouver, BC | DEF | West Vancouver FHC | 185 |
David Vandenbossche | Ghent, Belgium | GK | Gantoise | 2 |
Brandon Pereira | Surrey, BC | DEF | United Brothers | 61 |
NON-TRAVELING RESERVES | ||||
Dave Carter | Vancouver, BC | GK | Vancouver Hawks | 194 |
STAFF | POSITION | HOMETOWN |
---|---|---|
Pasha Gademan | Head Coach | Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
Andre Henning | Assistant Coach | Cologne, Germany |
Craig Sieben | Assistant Coach | Lieden, The Netherlands |
Kelly Vanry | Team Manager | West Vancouver, BC |
Adam Janssen | Team Leader | Toronto, ON |
Paul Mounter | Analyst | Vancouver, BC |
Edison Au | Physio | Toronto, ON |
Navin Prasad | Physician | Vancouver, BC |
Kevin Underhill, Communications Manager
Field Hockey Canada
C: 604-868-7189
E: kunderhill@fieldhockey.ca
Grace Li, Marketing and Sponsorship Coordinator
Field Hockey Canada
C: (647) 972-6913
E: graceli@fieldhockey.ca
Giles Leblanc, Olympic Media Attaché
Canadian Olympic Committee / Softball Canada
C: (613) 795-1996
E: gleblanc@softball.ca
Josh Su, Specialist, Public Relations
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-464-4060
E: jsu@olympic.ca