Casey to play at pre-trials
There will be a P.E.I. skip in the 2017 Road to the Roar PreTrials in Summerside.
Seven Mile Bay native and Winsloe resident Adam Casey confirmed on Friday his Saskatchewan rink, which curled out of the Highland Curling Club in Regina this past season, has accepted an invitation for the final qualifying event for the Olympic Curling Trials after securing enough points through the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) for an invitation.
“We had done the math and knew we were in a position to receive one,” said Casey. “It’s exciting, and one of the goals I set going into this year was to earn one of those spots.”
The Summerside event will determine the final two men’s and final two women’s directentry berths into the 2017 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings, which will determine the Canadian rinks for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The pre-trials event, which will take place from Nov. 6 to 12 at Credit Union Place, will feature 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams.
Casey, third Catlin Schneider, second Shaun Meachem and lead Dustin Kidby went 7-1 en route to winning the Saskatchewan provincial men’s championship, and represented the province at the Tim Hortons Brier in St. John’s, N.L.
“We kind of took the long way towards earning that invitation,” said Casey, 27. “It wasn’t until the last three events of the year that we put ourselves in a position where we would receive one.
“We had to play well down the stretch, and it was a big accomplishment for us in that sense.”
With off-season lineup shuffles ongoing, it’s important to note rinks must retain three of the players who earned the qualifying points, and have them on the ice at all times to maintain eligibility.
Casey noted his rink is still working on “what the final lineup will look like,” and he hopes to have that finalized in a couple of weeks.
This will not be the first time Casey has curled in a major event at Credit Union Place. He previously participated in the Grand Slam of Curling’s Players’ Championship.
Jack DesRoches recently got to experience an opportunity all athletes dream of: representing their country on the international stage.
The 17-year-old son of Julie McNeill and John DesRoches of Days Corner was a member of Team Canada at the world deaf hockey championships recently in Amherst, N.Y.
“It was a good experience, and I got to play with people who have the same disabilities as I have,” said DesRoches, who underwent surgery for a cochlear implant at the age of six that allows him to partially hear.
The Grade 12 student at Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside was thrilled to carry P.E.I.’s colours with the national team, and admitted pulling on the Canadian jersey for the first time is something he will always remember.
“I got to represent Canada, and it was one of those dreams you have; to get to play for Team Canada,” beamed DesRoches. “It was a very emotional feeling.”
A hard-nosed defensive defenceman, DesRoches registered one goal and two assists in five games. Canada went a perfect 4-0 in the round robin, before the United States avenged a 5-2 loss with a 6-3 win in the championship game.
“I am pretty happy to win silver the first time playing in the worlds,” DesRoches said. “I did get lots of ice time, and I am very pleased with how I played.”
The left-handed-shooting DesRoches was selected for Team Canada following an identification camp in Kitchener, Ont., in August.
DesRoches, who played for P.E.I. at the 2015 Canada Games, spent the first half of the 2016-17 season with the Miramichi Timberwolves of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. He rejoined the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild of the New Brunswick/P.E.I. Major Midget Hockey League in late December. He also played the two previous seasons with the Wild, and this year marked his third straight appearance in the Atlantic major midget hockey championship.
DesRoches said the calibre of play at the world championship was a combination between what he played in junior A and major midget.
“The hockey was similar as it is with the Wild, but guys were more physical, and there was a lot more hitting,” he said. “It was also similar to a junior pace.”
Players as young as 16 are eligible for the world tournament, but DesRoches gained lots of experience competing against older players.
“Most of the players in their tournament were in their 20s, but there were a couple of guys in their 30s,” said DesRoches, a draft pick of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Charlottetown Islanders. “There was one guy on Finland who was 40.”
DesRoches is eyeing a return to the world deaf hockey championships, and he has his eyes set on competing in the Deaf Olympics.
Other countries who sent teams to the 2017 world deaf hockey championships were Kazakhstan, Finland and Czech Republic