Junior men hit the field for game action before World Cup selection
PHOTO: Canada’s men line up for the national anthem during a match vs Chile at the 2016 Pan American Championship in Toronto, Ontario (By Yan Huckendubler)
With less than a month to go before Canada’s 2016 Junior World Cup team is selected, Canada’s Under-21 men in contention for selection have begun a series of exhibition matches against local club teams.
The first match was played Wednesday in Surrey, where the Junior men and Burnaby played to a 1-1 draw.
The rest of the matches are as follows:
- Friday, October 1st vs Canadian Senior Development Squad
- Wednesday, October 5th vs West Vancouver
- Friday, October 7th vs Canadian Senior Development Squad
- Wednesday, October 12th vs Vancouver Hawks
- Friday, October 14 vs Canadian Senior Development Squad
The Junior men competed against club teams in advance of the 2016 Pan American Championships as a way to prepare. And this time around, playing against club teams offers a way for the athletes to showcase their improvement in game situation before selection.
“I’m not married to any of those 18 guys (who competed at the qualifier in Toronto),” says Under-21 Head Coach Inderpal Sehmbi. “Everyone has to prove something.”
The junior men have been centralized as a group in Vancouver since the beginning of September and following their matches over the next two weeks, many will participate in the Senior Program’s Carding and Identification Camp after which the World Cup team will be named.
