Men’s and Women’s National Teams hunt World Cup berth in Santiago
The Pan American Cup has served as a qualifying avenue for the Hockey World Cup for over 20 years. This year’s event, held from January 19-30, 2022, will offer five bids (3 women and 2 men) to the upcoming World Cups.
Pan Am Cup – Women | Pan Am Cup – Men
Women’s National Team [view event page]
The Canadian Wolf Pack departs to Santiago with one objective in mind; qualify for the 2022 World Cup. This team is on the verge of making history.
The Canadian Women’s National Team last qualified for the Hockey World Cup in 1994, when the event was played in Dublin, Ireland. The 2022 World Cup will be held in Spain and the Netherlands. Head coach Rob Short put it simply; they have their objective, and they are going to do everything they can to achieve it.
“Our end-goal like all teams, is qualifying for the World Cup. We see this opportunity as exciting, and not a weight. This group is ready and so excited to play,” Short said.
In their last Pan American Cup performance, in 2017, Team Canada finished 4th. They will need to up that finish by at least one spot to secure a World Cup bid. With a top three finish, Canada will succeed in its qualification goal, and after winning a silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, this team expects to be back in the title match competing for that gold. Elise Wong joined the national team in 2019 after playing hockey at Princeton. She said the team understands the stakes and will be taking it one game at a time.
“The last two years have been full of uncertainty; that’s why it’s even more important that we can trust the work we’ve put in and focus in on our goals,” she said. “This would be the first time a Canadian women’s team has qualified for the World Cup since 1994, and we are excited to continue the legacy and continue showing the world what Canada can do.
The team is fresh off a successful November training tour that saw them defeat Pan Am rival USA in a five-game series, outscoring their neighbours to the south 9-2 in the process. The tour was great for developing team chemistry and Wong said it was key in building confidence heading into the major games.
“We had a very successful training tour in Chula Vista, sweeping the USA in the five-game series,” Wong said. “It was great to see our hard work pay off and has definitely given us confidence going into Pan Ams, especially with USA in our pool.”
The personnel-makeup of the team will look a little different than years past, notably missing Kate Wright, Dani Hennig, Holly Stewart and goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams. Former captain and long-time leader of the team, Wright, announced her retirement late last year.
The team returns half (9) of their roster from the 2019 Pan American Games, with the other half being a melange of junior development players taking the step up, indoor national team crossovers, and recruits from other development streams.
“Our team is a great collaboration of experienced veterans and younger players,” Wong added. Especially with the addition of players who have stepped up from the indoor team, NCAA, and U SPORTS.”
For coach Short, he comes into the Cup with many fond Pan American memories from his time as a player and hopes he can bring that experience to the sidelines in Santiago. Those memories include Pan American gold medals in both 1999 and 2007, qualifying for the Olympic Games.
“There are so many amazing memories, he said. “I hope to channel that feeling that I had over the years and the lessons learned. Now, it’s about helping the girls understand the importance of this great opportunity we have and then embrace it.”
The team begins their 2022 Pan American Cup campaign against Peru on opening day. View schedule here.
Men’s National Team [view event page]
With two bids on the line for the 2023 Hockey World Cup, the Red Caribou must make the finals to secure their spot.
Since the adoption of the Pan American Cup in 2000, Canada’s Men’s Team has yet to finish worse than second. But historical records don’t guarantee anything, and the team is taking nothing for granted, with perennial favourite Argentina in attendance and USA, Mexico, and Chile lurking. Every team will be going all out for the coveted World Cup bids.
Canada is coming off a second-place finish at the 2019 Lima Pan American Games and 12th place at the 2020 Olympic Games.
The bulk of the Canadian squad has been training in the domestic environment, in Vancouver, working with coaching staff in preparation for the Pan American Cup. The team took a short tour to California. Led by head coach Pasha Gademan, to get some time together before traveling to Santiago. Veteran defender, Gordon Johnston said the tour to Moorpark was key in their preparation.
“It was nice to get everyone on the field together again and get some new guys some experience. It was crucial in terms of bringing the group together and getting in a good spot before the Christmas holiday,” Johnston said. “It was a very important part of our prep.”
Notably, the team will be without long time leaders Scott Tupper and Mark Pearson, both announcing their retirements late last year. Despite losing some critical leadership pieces, the team remains largely unchanged, returning 14 players from their extended Olympic roster.
“Those guys were such a big part of our team for years. But one of the great things about them, they were always mentoring us and passing on knowledge,” he said. “It leaves a bit of a hole, for sure, but they’ve done such an amazing job, they’ve set us up to feel prepared moving forward.”
Several of the Red Caribou have been playing in an elite European environment for the fall, including athletes in the Belgian, Dutch, and German leagues. Johnston has been playing for HGC in the Dutch Hoofdklasse and said the experience has been excellent so far. The Canadian defender said the competition level is high and it gives him weekly quality repetitions.
“It’s been great. Everyone has been so welcoming to me at the club. The hockey level is so high, and we have a really good team that will challenge for the title this year.”
The team will rely on their group winter training and their Moorpark training tour to make sure they are connected and feeling ready to take on Pan Ams this month. The Red Caribou open their Pan American Cup campaign on January 20, against Mexico. View full schedule here.
Thank you sponsors!
Our national teams are able to compete at the 2022 Pan American Cup thanks to the generous support from our sponsors. Thank you to our apparel partner, Indian Maharadja, our equipment supplier, Gryphon Hockey, and our club partners, West Vancouver FHC and Tamanawis Field Hockey Society, for supporting the Red Caribou and Wolf Pack!
To support our teams and donate to their journeys, click here.
