After watching the men’s and women’s hockey teams win gold, Canada’s sledge team is eager to hit the ice for the Paralympic Games.
The sledge team won gold in 2006 in Turin, Italy, and is looking to claim the top of the podium on home ice.
“You can feel it, the difference. Torino was awesome too, but it’s pretty special being in your own country,” said Elmira’s Jeff Snyder, the team’s head coach. “Everywhere we go in Vancouver, there are Canadian signs and you can really feel the people behind you.”
The team arrived in British Columbia Feb. 27 and went on the road to hold practices in different cities before moving into the Olympic village last Saturday. On Tuesday, they faced off against the Czech Republic in an exhibition game.
Team Canada will meet Italy, Sweden and Norway in the preliminary rounds. Filling out the Paralympic schedule are Japan, Korea and the U.S.
Norway and the U.S. are the teams to watch out for, Snyder said. Canada finished third behind the U.S. and Norway at the world championship this year.
Thirteen players on the 15-member squad were part of the gold-medal Paralympic team in 2006; defenceman Adam Dixon of Midland, Ontario and forward Derek Whitsun of Chatham, Ontario are the only newcomers.
They’ll be using that experience to their advantage, Snyder said; most of their players have been through the hype and excitement of the games before, so they’ll know what to expect.
The coach said the team isn’t feeling any extra pressure to win it all after Canada’s Olympic hockey success, noting that bringing home gold has been their goal all along.
“We came here to win gold. We’d love to complete the hat trick for Hockey Canada, but I don’t think [the pressure is any more than it was before.”
Sledge hockey made its Paralympic debut at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, and it has proven to be one of the most popular sports at the Games. Sledge hockey games featuring Canada and the gold medal game were the first events of the Vancouver Paralympics to sell out.
The sledge team was brought under the umbrella of Hockey Canada in 2005, and Hockey Canada has done a lot to promote the sport and build it at the grassroots level, Snyder said,
Canada’s sledge team also benefitted from Own the Podium, the $117-million dollar plan to see Canada win more medals than any other country at the Olympics. The sledge team received almost $2 million over the past five years, enabling the players to spend more time together at training camps and funding development of new equipment.
Snyder has coached the national sledge team for seven years, and he’s watched the sport grow in popularity and competitiveness over that time.
“I would say Canada, the United States and Norway are a little bit ahead, but that gap’s closing. Japan for sure has improved and the Czech Republic’s really improved fast.”
Before their first game Mar. 13, the sledge team will march into B.C. Place Stadium for the opening ceremony behind team captain Jean Labonté. Labonté was selected to be the flag bearer, the second consecutive time a sledge player has carried the flag for the opening ceremony of the Paralympics.
