Canadian Field Hockey Team Named for 2022 Commonwealth Games

36 Athletes will represent Canada in the seventh edition of the Commonwealth Games hockey competition.

OTTAWA - (2022 - 07 - 04) - Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) and Field Hockey Canada today announced the athletes who will represent Team Canada in the field hockey competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England taking place July 28 to August 8, 2022.

Both the Men’s and Women’s teams will be made up of 18 athletes including two goalkeepers per team.

The Men’s National Team is coming off the back of a bronze medal performance at the 2022 Pan American Cup in Santiago, Chile. Canada will face Wales, India, England and Ghana in their pool with the top two teams advancing to the semifinals. The roster is a new-look roster featuring several players who will play in their first international match. The fresh faces are paired with the veteran likes of Keegan Pereira, Taylor Curran, John Smythe and Matt Sarmento. Notable departures from the Pan Am Cup roster include stalwart defender Gordon Johnston and long-time goalkeeper, Antoni Kindler. The Commonwealth Games marks the debut tournament for interim head coach, Peter Milkovich.

Captain, Keegan Pereira is making his fourth Commonwealth Games appearance. He said he always appreciates the opening ceremonies that signal the start of this special tournament. He said that the team has a handful of new faces and, with that in mind, he knows this group will be up to the challenge when the first whistle blows.

“The Commonwealth Games is one of the biggest events in our four-year cycle and this team is really looking forward to showing what we can do there,” Pereira said. “We have a bunch of new faces in the team and for a handful of our guys it's not only going to be their first multisport event, but their first senior cap as well. There's going to be a lot of learnings for us throughout the tournament, but I think this group is ready to take on the challenges ahead.”

“I remember being so excited to get to the village and be around all these other high-performance athletes. I am excited for our young guys to get their first taste of that feeling as well,” Pereira said.

The Women’s National Team will be traveling directly from Spain, where they are taking part in the 2022 World Cup, to the UK for the Commonwealth Games. They will have the same pool play opponents as the MNT, facing India, Wales, England and Ghana with the top two advancing to the championship bracket.

At the last Commonwealth Games, Team Canada finished in fifth place, an all-time high. They will be looking to ride the high from the World Cup to a potential semifinals berth in Birmingham. Team Canada won a bronze medal over USA 1-0 at the 2022 Pan American Cup to punch their ticket to the World Cup. They are taking largely a similar roster to this summer’s competition. Melanie Scholz and Chloe Walton will be playing in their first major competition for Canada’s senior national team. Notable departures from the World Cup roster include defenders Shanlee Johnston and Kat Leahy. This tournament will be head coach Rob Short’s third behind the Wolf Pack bench.

“With many of the world’s leading Field Hockey nations competing at the Commonwealth Games, the challenge for medals will be significant,” says Scott Stevenson, Executive Director, Team Canada 2022. “We are looking for solid performances from both the women’s and men’s teams with a few upsets along the way, so they can challenge for the podium. We know from past games that our Canadian teams always compete hard, and we look forward to more of the same.”

Birmingham 2022 will feature 19 sports and eight para-sports as part of its program with up to 4,500 athletes taking part. The Commonwealth Games are the only multi-sport event that feature equal standing for sport and para-sport events, and these 2022 Games will showcase the largest para-sport program ever. In addition, for the first time in its history, the Games will feature more medal events for women (135) than men (133).

The field hockey teams which will represent Canada at the Birmingham 2022 includes:

Men’s National Team:

Coaches:

Women’s National Team:

Coaches:

ABOUT TEAM CANADA 2022

The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be host to 72 participating nations and territories taking part in the Games. The Commonwealth Games are a valuable opportunity as a steppingstone and development opportunity for Canadian athletes, coaches, and managers working towards Olympic and Paralympic success. Canada’s performance projection in 2022 is a top 3 ranking, in total medals, amongst all nations and territories competing. Commonwealth athletes won 80%+ of Canada's medals at the 2020 Olympic Games

Team Canada’s dedicated mission team will provide an optimal environment by celebrating equality, diversity, and non-discrimination. This is in support of our goals needed to enable a best ever performance by Canadian athletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

ABOUT NSO

From grass roots to high performance, Field Hockey Canada is working to develop and strengthen field hockey across the country, and to position our National Teams for consistent podium contention. In 1991, the Canadian men’s and women’s programs united under the national umbrella of Field Hockey Canada to share funding and infrastructure, and to unite leadership – ultimately transitioning two programs, which had worked hard independently to succeed, into one national entity. Today, Field Hockey Canada is the governing body of the sport in Canada, from Junior to Masters level athletes, competing recreationally and competitively. Field Hockey Canada is a member organization of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and the International Field Hockey Federation (FIH).

ABOUT COMMONWEALTH SPORT CANADA

Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) is the franchise holder for the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth sport movement in Canada. CSC is an active, contributing member of the Canadian sport community and supports Canada’s athletes to achieve excellence at Olympic, Paralympic Games, and world championships. The mission of CSC is to enrich the lives of youth across the Commonwealth and host the Commonwealth Games. CSC is responsible for all aspects of Canada’s participation in the XXII Commonwealth Games and will be sending a team of almost 400 of Canada’s best athletes and coaches to compete for Canada. The upcoming Games will occur in Birmingham, England from July 28 through to August 8, 2022. For additional information go to: www.commonwealthsport.ca.

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