CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada has announced the 32 players that will attend Canada’s National Para Hockey Team NextGen development camp, Feb. 16-19 at Aréna Howie-Morenz in Montréal.

Four goaltenders, 10 defencemen and 18 forwards were selected by head coach Russ Herrington (Unionville, Ont./York University, OUA), Tyler Dietrich (West Vancouver, B.C.), director of hockey operations, and Marshall Starkman (Thornhill, Ont.), manager of hockey operations. Assistant coaches Mike Foligno (Sudbury, Ont.) and Mike Fountain (Gravenhurst, Ont.) also provided input.

“We are excited to return to Montréal and provide our athletes with another opportunity to train in a competitive environment while introducing our younger players to the National Para Hockey Team program,” Starkman said. “This is an exciting time for our sport as we progress through the first year of a new Paralympic cycle, and we look forward to using this camp to integrate national team athletes with young, skilled players that will greatly benefit from this experience.”

The four-day camp will feature 20 players who won a silver medal at the 2022 Para Hockey Cup, as well as 23 players who were selected to participate in training camps and events throughout the 2022-23 season. Nine NextGen prospects (Bilodeau, Baggs, Culmone, Daigle, Hurst, Mah, Stoppa, Straschnitzki, Tousignant) will also attend camp, including two players who will participate in their first Hockey Canada camp (Daigle, Hurst).

The camp will include a variety of on- and off-ice activities, including practices and three intrasquad games, and will be used to help introduce NextGen prospects to Canada’s National Para Hockey Team. It will also be used to evaluate players in advance of a national team series against the United States, March 15-18 in Elmira, Ont., and a development team series against the Americans, April 27-30 in Montréal.

The support staff that will attend Canada’s National Para Hockey Team NextGen development camp includes:

• Guest coaches Maxime Gagnon (Longueuil, Que./Team Quebec Sledge), National Para Hockey Team alumnus Jean Labonté (Hull, Que.) and Scott Walker (Cambridge, Ont.)
• Team physician Dr. Danielle Kelton (Guelph, Ont.)
• Physiotherapists Christophe Lett (Montréal, Que.) and Catherine Senez (Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, Que.)
• Equipment managers Martin Lacombe (Sainte-Zotique, Que./Team Quebec Sledge) and A.J. Murley (St. John’s, N.L.)
• Hockey operations coordinator Hannah Curlock (Calgary, Alta.)

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Para Hockey Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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For more information or to be removed from the media contact list, please contact:

Spencer Sharkey 

Manager, Communications

Hockey Canada               

905-906-5327                             

ssharkey@hockeycanada.ca