Tough to play against
Boys’ hockey team will compete for Prince Edward Island during Week 1 of the Canada Games in Red Deer
Fresh off winning the Monctonian hockey challenge with his club team, the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild, head coach Kyle Dunn had to turn his focus to finalizing his roster for the 2019 Canada Games, a process that has been more than a year-and-ahalf in the making.
After lots of debate amongst the coaching staff, they announced their final 20-player roster on Tuesday, Nov. 22, who will wear the Team P.E.I. jersey in Red Deer, Alta. The roster is a mixture of 14 players born in 2003 and six underage players born in 2004.
“It was not an easy decision. We started the process in March of 2017, and these guys continued to get better each and every time we saw them, which made the final decision that much harder,” Dunn said.
The Island squad is made up of players from tip to tip with O’Leary being the furthest west and Souris being the furthest east.
“We are going to be a 200-foot team that will play hard nose style of play, and one that will be tough to play against,” Dunn said in describing his squad.
This will be Dunn’s first time attending a Canada Games, and one he is looking forward to.
“I’ve never got to play in a Canada Games or coach in one. This was a goal of mine, and I am just as excited as the players to get out to Red Deer. (I am) looking forward to experiencing athletes’ village, opening ceremonies and cheering on our fellow Island athletes at the games.”
The roster announcement was made by Summerside’s Noah Dobson, who played for Team P.E.I. at the 2015 Canada Games in Prince George, B.C. He has since gone on to be selected 12th overall by the New York Islanders in this past year’s NHL draft and win the Memorial Cup with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Another notable player from the 2015 team is Moncton Wildcats leading scorer Jeremy McKenna, who sits second all time in Canada Games scoring with 23 points, two behind New Brunswick’s Kelsey Tessier who set the record at the 2007 Games in Whitehorse.
The best showing for Team P.E.I. in the boys’ hockey competition at the Canada Games came in 1979 in Brandon, Man. The Everett Stewart-coached team finished fourth with a tough 4-3 loss to Team Ontario in the bronze medal match. Former NHLer Dave Cameron was held out of the Canada Games that year due to injury. He may have been the difference between P.E.I. receiving their first and only medal in the event.
There are some strong family ties to this year’s boys’ hockey team, such as brothers Isaac and Reid Vos suiting up together. Max Chisholm and his sister Mya will be representing the boys’ and girls’ hockey teams, respectively, while Matthew McQuaid’s sister Alexa (2015) and his mother Katherine (1985) each won medals at the Canada Games in swimming.
Next up, the boys’ hockey team will be getting together during the Christmas break at Credit Union Place in Summerside for a mini-camp, along with a few team-building activities and potentially an exhibition game. This will be the final time the whole team gets together before heading to Red Deer, as the squad’s players are spread out throughout the country.
For more information on Team P.E.I. and the 2019 Winter Canada Games, stay tuned for more Countdown to the Games articles and be sure to follow Team P.E.I. on Facebook and Twitter.
#IsleBeReady