Usually when entering any tournament, the goal is to have success. For the Men’s National Field Hockey Team at the 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah in Ipoh, Malaysia success will be measured differently than normal.
As the team prepares for its shot at 2016 Olympic qualification at the World League Semi-Finals (or World League 3) in Buenos Aires, Argentina in June, playing some of the best field hockey teams in the world starting this weekend in Malaysia is the perfect time and place to evaluate talent.
“The performances in this tournament are going to go a long way towards selection in World League 3,” says Men’s National Team head coach Anthony Farry.
While Farry and the coaching staff are coming off seeing their top squad compete – and compete well – at World League Round 2 in California in March, the Azlan Shah tournament will provide a different opportunity.
With captain Scott Tupper and veteran Mark Pearson on club duty in Belgium, and the hulking Matthew Guest and young stars Gordon Johnston and Paul Wharton recovering from injury, many players other players who either just made or did not make the World League 2 team will be given the chance to show they belong in an environment with the world’s best.
“For us it’s not about placing at this tournament,” Farry adds. “It’s about having a look at some of the guys that pushed for World League 2 that maybe didn’t get the opportunity.”
“This one is about us having a look at what we do, having a look at the makeup of our team, what team can have an impact at World League 3, and give us the best chance at qualifying for the Olympics.”
At the twenty-fourth edition of the Azlan Shah Cup, which begins Sunday, Canada faces four of the world’s top ten ranked teams in Australia (world no.1), New Zealand (world no.7), Korea (world no.8), and India (world no.9).
Additionally, they will face the host Malaysians who have always given Canada a run for its money, as recently as last year at the 2014 Champions Challenge, where Canada beat the host team in the shootout in the tournament semifinal thanks to a game-winning goal from defender Adam Froese.
“We’re missing some guys in this tournament, but its going to be a really good opportunity for some other guys on the fringe to just really show themselves and get that experience against teams that they might not necessarily face,” says the 23 year-old Froese, who was born in Malaysia and will be serving as team captain in Tupper’s absence. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. A tournament like this is completely different from a lot of tournaments you get to go to. It’s going to be an experience for all of us as a group.”
Canada opens the tournament on Sunday morning against the World No. 1 team, Australia. The game is set to begin at 1:10am PT/4:10am ET. The next day, Canada takes on Korea, which defeated Canada in the 2014 Champions Challenge final.
See Canada’s full tournament schedule and get results as they happen here.
