Going for the glorious gold
Gander native to represent Team Canada at world ball hockey championships
Michael Dyke can remember growing up in Gander playing street hockey with his buddies. There was no organized ball hockey in his hometown back then, so he and his friends would create their own league, dividing themselves into teams, each adopting the moniker of a particular country, and playing for what they dubbed the “World Cup.”
“Even then, at a young age, it shows how much representing Canada to play something meant to all of us,” Dyke reflects. “And I’m getting a chance to do it now, it’s pretty cool.”
Indeed, decades later, that dream of wearing the maple leaf and representing Canada is about to be fulfilled.
Dyke, 38, now living in St. John’s, was recently selected as a defenseman to the 2023 Men’s Masters 35+ Canadian Ball Hockey Team. He and the rest of Team Canada will compete for gold at the 2023 ISBHF World Masters Championships in Buffalo from Aug. 30 to Sept. 3.
It will be Dyke’s first time representing Canada on the ball hockey floor.
“Whenever you have an opportunity to represent your country, it’s always something special,” he says. “As a kid, I always dreamed about winning the world championship.”
He is excited to be one of five Newfoundlanders to be named to the team.
“To be able to compete for a world championship with a few of my good friends is going to be something special,” says Dyke.
While this will be his first time playing for Team Canada, it isn’t his first time representing Team Canada. He was named an alternate to the 2013 Canadian men’s team that won bronze. But Dyke never received any floor time.
He has since coached U20 Team Canada at the worlds in 2018 where they won silver, just coming up short losing to the Czechs in overtime.
Another year, he didn’t make Team Canada but was eligible to represent Team Ireland. He won a silver medal, defeating Canada in the semis before falling to the United States.
Those were his closest calls. This time he wants to win it all.
“I’m hoping to finally win that gold upcoming this summer,” says Dyke.
The tournament will be viewable on the Canadian Ball Hockey Association website, canadaballhockey.ca
BALL HOCKEY CAREER
Dyke has experienced a great deal of success as a player.
He first started playing organized ball hockey after he finished his junior hockey career and made to St. John’s when he was 21. He discovered the local league was strong and soon was picked up to play in the nationals.
“From then on, it was something that I knew I was going to be passionate about, something I wanted to pursue even further,” he says.
Dyke has now represented Newfoundland and Labrador at 16 straight ball hockey nationals.
The team’s greatest success came in 2010 when the province hosted the tournament. It ended with gold draped around the Newfoundlanders’ necks.
Prior to that, N.L. wasn’t known as a ball hockey powerhouse. Winning gold changed everything. That year, with the event held in the province, the team loaded up, getting now former NHLers Teddy Purcell and Adam Pardy to join.
Ever since, the province has been strong. However, although they have won six silver and two bronze medals, they have been unable to reattain gold.
Weeks before the world championships, Dyke hopes that will change as he reunites with Team NL for the nationals in Saint John, New Brunswick this August.
In terms of individual accolades, Dyke has received an allstar team nomination and last year won Top Defenseman at the Masters Nationals.
GROWING THE GAME
Dyke wants to see ball hockey continue to grow and thrive in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Not only has he put in effort on the floor, he’s putting in the time behind the bench.
His experience in the minor program has given him the chance to step into coaching roles and help develop provincial teams competing at higher levels.
He coached the U20 national team in 2018 and, later this month, as part of a busy summer for Dyke, he will be heading to the Czech Republic to coach the U23 team the World Junior Championships.
“I’m really excited to get on my way with that as well,” he says.
As a provincial coach, he has seen the numbers playing ball hockey increase from all around the province. He has worked with players from not just St. John’s, but the west coast, the Northern Peninsula, Labrador and of course central.
He hopes to see the numbers grow even more in central and hopes his example could inspire youth in the region.