CALGARY, Alberta – With less than a month until the puck drops, Hockey Canada has announced the 17 players who will wear the Maple Leaf with Canada’s National Para Hockey Team and compete for a gold medal at the 2025 World Para Hockey Championship, May 24-31 at LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York.
The roster – two goaltenders, six defencemen and nine forwards – was selected by head coach Russ Herrington (Unionville, ON), assistant coaches Steve Arsenault (Spruce Grove, AB), Mike Fountain (Gravenhurst, ON), Liam Heelis (Georgetown, ON), Boris Rybalka (Vernon, BC) and Greg Westlake (Oakville, ON). Benoit Roy (Sudbury, ON), director of hockey operations, and Adam Janssen (Richmond Hill, ON), manager of hockey operations, also provided input.
“Entering the World Championship as the defending champions is not something we take lightly,” said Herrington. “We know that every country will bring their best against us. As a group we have continued to grow and develop over the last year, from the Para Cup to the USA series. This roster has a ton of experience on the big stage, and we are excited to get going.”
The roster includes 16 players who helped Canada win a gold medal at the 2024 World Para Hockey Championship in Calgary (Armstrong, Boily, Burnett, Cozzolino, Dixon, Dunn, Halbert, Henry, Hickey, Jacobs-Webb, Kingsmill, Kovacevich, Lavin, Lelièvre, McGregor, Watson).
Canada will be joined by China, Germany and Korea in Group A, while Group B features Czechia, Norway, Slovakia and the United States.
Canada opens its preliminary-round schedule on May 24 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT against Germany and will face Korea on May 25 and China on May 27. The quarterfinals are set for May 28, followed by the semifinals on May 30 and the medal games on May 31.
All 20 tournament games will be available for free via livestream at USAHockeyTV.com.
Hockey Canada also announced the support staff that will travel to Buffalo:
- Equipment manager AJ Murley (St. John’s, NL)
- Athletic therapist Tracy Meloche (Essex, ON)
- Physiotherapist Michael Lenart (Keswick, ON)
- Team physician Dr. Danielle Kelton (Guelph, ON)
- Senior coordination, operations Reid Folk (Stoughton, SK)
- Hockey operations coordinator Jake Grison (Lion’s Head, ON)
- Communications coordinator Branden Crowe (Virden, MB)
Canada has captured five gold medals at Para Worlds (2000, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2024), in addition to four silver (2015, 2019, 2021, 2023) and three bronze (1996, 2009, 2012).
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Para Hockey Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.
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For further information:
Branden Crowe
Coordinator, Communications
Hockey Canada
204.730.2147
bcrowe@hockeycanada.ca