Hockey Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee has announced its Paralympic sledge hockey roster for the 2018 Paralympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, and B.C. athlete James Gemmell has made the team.
Gemmell, 37, was also on the Canadian Paralympic sledge hockey team in 2014, and holds a bronze medal from the Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia. He is the only national sledge hockey team member from British Columbia, and calls Quesnel home.
The team roster was finalized Sunday (Feb. 11) in Toronto.
Gemmell, a defenseman, has been playing on the national sledge hockey team since September 2017, when he was chosen for the 2017/18 team after a selection camp in Calgary.
Seventeen players were then selected from the national team to represent Canada in South Korea.
B次元官网网址淓veryone wants one of those spots. But the competition among ourselves makes the team better in the long run,B次元官网网址� Gemmell told Black Press in September.
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The team held its final training camp last week in Ontario.
At the press conference in Toronto, head coach Ken Babey said: B次元官网网址淚t was not an easy decision; our players have pushed each other all year to put us in the best possible position to win a gold medal. WeB次元官网网址檙e excited to get to PyeongChang, put on the Team Canada jersey, and represent our country with pride.B次元官网网址� The Team Canada roster includes two goaltenders, six defencemen and nine forwards. Gemmell is the only national sledge hockey team member from British Columbia.
CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Paralympic Hockey Team also features 10 players (Steve Arsenault, Brad Bowden, Billy Bridges, Ben Delaney, Adam Dixon, QuesnelB次元官网网址檚 James Gemmell, Dominic Larocque, Tyler McGregor, Corbin Watson and Greg Westlake) who brought home the bronze medal at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia; three players (Bowden, Bridges and Westlake) who captured CanadaB次元官网网址檚 first Paralympic gold medal at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy; and 16 players (Rob Armstrong, Arsenault, Bowden, Bridges, Dominic Cozzolino, Delaney, Dixon, Gemmell, Tyrone Henry, Liam Hickey, Larocque, McGregor, Bryan Sholomicki, Corbyn Smith, Watson and Westlake) who won the gold medal at the 2017 IPC World Para Hockey Championship in Gangneung, South Korea.
When heB次元官网网址檚 not competing on the national stage, Gemmell owns and operates K9 Boarding Kennels in Quesnel. He also helps run a local sledge hockey fun league.
The 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Games take place March 9-18.
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Sledge hockey opens on Mar. 9, with Canada competing in Group A with Italy, Norway and Sweden.
