The experienced Scott Tupper will lead Canada men into his third Olympic Games against the European powerhouses.
Canada are pitted in a Pool with the top four sides from this year’s EuroHockey – Holland, Germany, Belgium and Great Britain respectively – and South Africa.
“Personally, to be able to compete in a third Olympics is definitely something I’m incredibly proud of and excited for,” Tupper said. “Anytime you get to represent your country, it’s a huge honour. I cherish my Olympic experiences and am looking forward to this year’s Games.”
Canada qualified 20 months ago following their controversial two-legged win over Ireland in Vancouver.
“Although the Olympic experience will be different this time around, I fully expect the Olympic competition to be just as fierce as ever,” added Tupper, who has 315 caps.
“Whether there are fans or not, it’s still the best teams in the world competing for medals.
“We’ll have our fans cheering us on from back home and we’re really looking forward to testing ourselves against the best in the world. I expect us to be competitive in every game and fighting for points at every moment.”
Canada’s team features eight athletes who featured at Rio, as well as eight debutants.
“Having that experience of going through a major Games or two is really important. We’ve been through it all before so we know what to expect,” he added. “With that said, it’s also really nice to have that young injection of energy and youth. They are wide-eyed and seeing things for the first time. That fresh attitude can remind us how truly amazing this experience is. I think striking that balance is great for our team.”
Canada men’s squad:
Antoni Kindler, Brendan Guraliuk, Brenden Bissett, Fin Boothroyd, Floris Van Son, Gabriel Ho-Garcia, Gordon Johnston, James Kirkpatrick, Jamie Wallace, John Smythe, Keegan Pereira, Mark Pearson, Matthew Sarmento, Oliver Scholfield, Scott Tupper, Sukhi Panesar
TRAVELLING RESERVES
Taylor Curran, David Vandenbossche
