Experienced Junior Men looking to make a splash in India
The Junior Men’s National Team will head to Chennai and Madurai, India for the 2025 FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup, held from November 28–December 10. Like the women’s event, the men’s tournament will feature 24 teams from around the world. Canada qualified by finishing second at the 2024 Junior Pan American Championship in Surrey, BC, and will look to build on their 13th-place finish in the 2021 Junior World Cup.
The men’s roster includes athletes from Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, as well as Canadian players based in the United Kingdom and Australia. Eight players on this team are returning from the 2023 Junior World Cup and a strong core returning from last year’s JPAC in Surrey and this summer’s Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay, the team is focused on improving their previous World Cup performance and making a statement on the international stage.
Team Canada will look to build off their silver medal at the 2025 Junior Pan Am Games.
Geoff Matthews has been with the majority of the players for three years at this point and has been developing this team for international performance. He was proud of how the team battled through adversity at Junior Pan Ams in August. He added that experience and continuity is a strength of the team and they plan to embrace the pressure of the moment and strive for a top finish.
“Beyond results, the Junior World Cup has always been a proving ground for future stars. For us, it’s a valuable opportunity to gain experience against some of the best teams in the world, and to measure ourselves against that standard,” Matthews said. “Our aim is simple. Focus on playing our best hockey every match and put ourselves in positions to win. If we do that consistently, I believe we’ll surprise some people with the level of our performances. It’s going to be an exciting tournament.”
TEAM CANADA ROSTER
| NO. | PLAYER NAME | POSITION | HOMETOWN | CLUB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lucas Aardenburg | MID | Adelaide, AUS | North East Hockey Club |
| 12 | Brooklyn Aranha | MID | Surrey, BC | Burnaby Lake |
| 14 | Parmveer Basra | FWD | Surrey, BC | Panthers |
| 21 | Gurnoor Bhullar | MID | Surrey, BC | Surinder Lions |
| 29 | Gurwinder Brar | DEF | Brampton, ON | OKD |
| 34 | Navdip Chandi | FWD | Mississauga, ON | OKD FHC |
| 89 | Stanley Cooke | GK | London, UK | Southgate Hockey Club |
| 9 | Leighton De Souza | MID | Etobicoke, ON | OKD FHC |
| 5 | Satpreet Dhadda | DEF | Surrey, BC | UBC Thunderbirds |
| 31 | Morgan Garside | GK | Charfield, UK | Wotton-Under-Edge |
| 15 | Ravpreet Gill | FWD | Brampton, ON | Brampton FHC |
| 8 | Noah Louie | MID | North Vancouver, BC | UBC Thunderbirds |
| 2 | Joshua Miranda | DEF | Mississauga, ON | Toronto Lions |
| 7 | Kirin Robinson | FWD | Vancouver, BC | UBC Thunderbirds |
| 13 | Kale Simonson | MID | Calgary AB | UBC Thunderbirds |
| 4 | Grant Simpson | DEF | Calgary, AB | UVic Vikes |
| 6 | Gavin Thind | DEF | Langley, BC | Surinder Lions |
| 10 | Robin Thind | FWD | Surrey, BC | Surinder Lions |
| ALTERNATES | ||||
| 11 | Josiah Campbell | FWD | Calgary, AB | Saracens |
| 16 | Sawyer Ross | MID | Victoria, BC | UBC |
| STAFF NAME | ROLE | |||
| Geoff Matthews | Head Coach | |||
