Field Hockey Canada > Junior Men’s National Team roster announced for Junior Pan American Cup

Junior Men’s National Team roster announced for Junior Pan American Cup

Featured Photo: Blair Shier

June 17, 2021 | Field Hockey Canada | fieldhockey.ca

Eighteen Athletes and Reserves Selected for Junior Pan American Cup Roster

Field Hockey Canada is excited to announce the Junior Men’s National Team that will represent Canada at the 2021 Junior Pan American Cup in Santiago, Chile in August. Following a week-long selection camp, the coaching staff have selected 18 rostered athletes and eight reserves.

The original U21 Pan Am Cup was scheduled for 2020 but will now take place in August 2021. The age restrictions shifted to recognize the postponement of the tournament. Anyone born in 1999 or later will be eligible to compete in the Junior Pan American Cup but only those born in 2000 or later are eligible to compete in the Junior World Cup.

The team will be led by Head Coach Indy Sehmbi and Assistant Coach Geoff Matthews. For Sehmbi, this roster is the culmination of a four-year build working from the 2016 Junior World Cup. For Sehmbi, the extra year — due to the COVID-19 Pandemic — was a challenge but also an opportunity to work with this cohort of junior athletes for another year.

“It’s been a long process. We’ve had to navigate a lot of changes. With the extra year, the prep has been a little bit disjointed. And this build really started in 2017,” he said. “I’m really proud of our whole group, not just the guys that were selected. Everyone, including the staff have worked really hard and it shows.”

The Pan American Cup will take place from August 16-29, 2021 with the top two teams qualifying for the Junior World Cup, set for December in India. On the men’s side, Canada has qualified for the last two Junior World Cups and will look to make it three in a row with a top-two finish this year in Chile. If the team qualifies, Sehmbi and Matthews will host an additional camp in October to make roster changes as necessary.

Sehmbi said selection camp served its purpose and made the decisions extremely difficult. As such, he’s confident in this group to make it happen.

“We have a very deep squad and a lot of parity throughout our lineup of identified athletes. It’s a coach’s dream to have such a strong group of athletes,” he said. “It’s a luxury for us to have such a diverse and deep athlete group. This is more than just one selection camp, it’s a culmination of several years of prep.”

From here, the junior men have a week off before centralizing in Vancouver to prepare for the tournament. Many of these athletes have played with and against each other and toured together over the past few years. For Sehmbi, the focus is about establishing a high standard and building on the existing cohesiveness.

“We have a group of guys that know each other pretty well,” he said. “We’ll be building that team cohesiveness with the smaller squad now. It’s about connection, character, confidence and competence. And we have a group that embodies that. We’re going to go down and contend to win this Pan Am Cup, no question.”

ROSTER

PLAYER NAMEPOSITIONHOMETOWNPROVINCECLUB
Alex BirdDEFChelsea, QCQUEChelsea Phoenix
Kyle BishopFWDNorth Vancouver, BCBCUBC
Avjot ButtarMIDRichmond, BCBCUnited Brothers
Sam CabralDEFVancouver, BCBCUBC
Nic CainFWDVancouverBCHawks FHC
Rowan ChildsMIDTsawwassen, BCBCUBC
Zach CoombsGKChelsea, QCQUEChelsea Phoenix
Sean DavisFWDMarondera, ZimbabweBCBurnaby Lake
Bhavdeep DhaliwalMIDSurrey, BCBCBurnaby Lake
Roopkanwar DhillonDEFSurrey, BCBCBurnaby Lake
Aaron FoongDEFNorth VancouverBCUBC
Daniel GoodwinGKNorth VancouverBCWest Van FHC
Johnny JacobyFWDVictoriaBCVictoria
Manveer JhamatMIDAbbotsford, BCBCBurnaby Lake
Flynn McCullochFWDChelsea, QCQUEChelsea Phoenix
Jagpreet SinghDEFMississauga, ONONTO.K.D
Nicolas SyrrosDEFChelsea, QCQUEChelsea Phoenix
Chris TardifMIDChelsea, QCQUEChelsea Phoenix

RESERVES

PLAYER NAMEPOSITIONHometownPROVINCECLUB
Casey Brennan-RaabFWDChelsea, QCQUEChelsea Phoenix
Noah LoomisDEFChelsea, QCQUEChelsea Phoenix
Nityanand RewankarDEFOttawa, ONONTGloucester Tigers

Coaching Staff
Inderpal Sehmbi – Head Coach
Geoff Matthews – Assistant Coach

Schedule and more information will be released prior to the Pan American Cup in August.