Team Canada Announcement

posted ‎‎Sep 22, 2009 2:56 PM‎‎ by Greg Beaudin [ updated ‎‎Sep 24, 2009 9:00 AM‎‎ ]

Floorball Canada has selected Mr. Harry Hannelius as a General Manager for the Canadian Men's National Team for the WFC 2010 Project. He can be reached at harry.hannelius@sci.fi

The National Team Committee has decided that the player registration deadline will be extended to read October 18th 2009.

Team Canada Call For GM and Coach Applications

posted ‎‎Aug 17, 2009 11:11 AM‎‎ by Greg Beaudin [ updated ‎‎Aug 17, 2009 11:16 AM‎‎ ]

Position: Men's National Floorball Coach

Application Deadline: September 10th, 2009

Starting Date: October 1st, 2009

Term: Till January 30th, 2011 based on Canada advancing to WFC 2010. If the team does not advance, the position is to February 28th, 2010.

PURPOSE

The mandate of the National Coach is to recruit, evaluate, select and lead Canada’s Men’s Team to first the Qualifier vs. The USA in February, 2010 and then on to the World Floorball Championships in Finland in December, 2010.

DESCRIPTION

The key responsibilities of the National Coach will include evaluation, selection and development of players in order to assemble a competitive entry at the World Championships.

The duties of the National Coach will include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

Develop and effectively manage Canada’s National Team for the Qualifier and 2010 World Floorball Championships.
Will assist in the development, organization, and management of a talent identification and development protocol for athletes.
Will abide by the FC National Team Selection policy.
Work with clubs on professional development initiatives targeted to FC’s elite athlete development priorities.
Develop, organize, and manage tryouts for the team (where available).
Act as member of the Men’s National Team Committee.
Develop, organize, and manage a talent identification and selection protocol for prospective assistant coaches and staff.
Available to attend events and meetings as required by the FC National Team Committee.
Prepare reports as required by the FC National Team Committee.
Other duties as may be assigned by the FC National Team Committee.

Qualifications:

Preferably, a minimum NCCP Level 2 certification (or equivalent) in the sport of Hockey, and/or,
Significant Floorball coaching experience in a competitive environment.

The successful applicant will have a demonstrated and proven record of coaching teams at a competitive level. Strong communications and team building skills are essential and a demonstrated ability to work in a team environment, as well as independently, is critical. The applicant must be a proven self-starter with excellent time management and organizational skills. An aptitude to educate, train and mentor is also required.

Application Deadline:

If you satisfy the above requirements, interested candidates should submit:

Resume/CV
Cover Letter

by midnight EDT on September 10th, 2009 to the Men's National Teams Committee Chair.

All applications will be reviewed carefully to develop a short-list of candidates for interview. Floorball Canada thanks all those that apply however only those receiving an interview will be contacted. The successful candidate will be required to submit a criminal background check prior to assuming duties.

Contact Information:

Eero Piilokivi 143 Boulevard des Prairies

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

450-575-6186 or 514-927-6886

eero@floorballcanada.ca

Chair, Men's National Teams Committee

Floorball Canada

Position: Men's National Team General Manager

Application Deadline: August 31st, 2009

Starting Date: September 7th, 2009

Term: Till January 31st, 2011, based on the team advancing to WFC 2010. If the team does not advance, the term is to February 28th, 2010.

PURPOSE

The mandate of the General Manager is to organize team logistical elements, evaluate and assist in selection of, and lead Canada to the qualifier vs. The USA in either NY or Toronto in February, 2010 and then on to the World Floorball Championships in Finland in December, 2010.

DESCRIPTION

The key responsibilities of the General Manager will include budget development, communication, and logistics planning to ensure a positive experience for Team Canada at the Qualifier and WFC.

Reporting to the FC National Team Committee and the FC Board, the duties of the General Manager will include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

Develop and effectively manage the Men’s National Team for both the qualifier and WFC 2010.

Will assist in the selection of Team Staff and players
Will abide by the FC National Team Selection policy
Develop, organize, and manage the team budget
Act as member of the Men’s National Committee and be available to attend events and meetings as required by the NTC committee
Server as Liaison between FC, the International Floorball Federation and Tournament Organizers
Book accommodations, team meals, and cultural activities
In conjunction with Head Coach, schedule pre-tournament exhibition matches and team practice schedule
Assist in fund raising strategies and implementing those plans
Prepare reports as required by the FC National Team Committee
Other duties as may be assigned by the FC National Team Committee

Special Note:

Each individual member of the team is expected to cover costs of travel, accommodation, meals, etc for this tournament. Fundraising and Sponsorship activities will take place, but are not currently guaranteed to fully subsidize the expense. Estimated total cost is approximately $2000CDN.

Qualifications:

Preferably, a Bachelor’s Degree from a recognized university (or equivalent).
Experience establishing and managing budgets.
Good spoken and written communication skills.
Fluency in French and/or Finnish an asset.

The successful applicant will have a demonstrated and proven record of budget management and sport administration skills. Strong communications and team building skills are essential and a demonstrated ability to work in a team environment, as well as independently, is critical. The applicant must be a proven self-starter with excellent time management and organizational skills.

Application Deadline:

If you satisfy the above requirements, interested candidates should submit:

Resume/CV
Cover Letter

by midnight EDT on August 31st, 2009 to the National Teams Committee Chair.

All applications will be reviewed carefully to develop a short-list of candidates for interview. Floorball Canada thanks all those that apply however only those receiving an interview will be contacted. The successful candidate will be required to submit a criminal background check prior to assuming duties.

Contact Information:

Eero Piilokivi

143 Boulevard des Prairies

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

450-575-6186 or 514-927-6886

eero@floorballcanada.ca

Chair, Men's National Teams Committee

Floorball Canada

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Women's National Team Staff Positions available

July 13th, 2009

Canada's National Women's Team is searching for Volunteers to fill the following positions:

- Assistant Coach

- Media Contact

- Athletic Therapist

- Team Doctor

The Team will compete at the 2009 Women's World Floorball Championships in Vasteras, Sweden December 5-12, 2009. All team
volunteer positions are expected to cover the costs of their transportation and accommodation for the duration of the Championships.

Please apply by Friday, July 24th with cover letter and resume to Paul Charbonneau, National Team Committee Chair. paul@floorballcanada.ca

June 16th, 2009

Call for Staff positions for the Women's National Floorball Team

Position: National Women’s Team General Manager

Application Deadline: July 1, 2009   Starting Date: July 15, 2009

Job Description:

Floorball Canada (FC) is seeking an individual to fill the position of General Manager of the National Women’s Team. The position will be a 6 month term (July 2009 – December 2009).

PURPOSE

The mandate of the General Manager is to organize team logistical elements, evaluate and assist in selection of, and lead Canada’s entry into the World Women’s Floorball World Championships in Sweden (December 5-12, 2009).

DESCRIPTION

The key responsibilities of the General Manager will include budget development, communication, and logistics planning to ensure a positive experience for Team Canada at the World Championships.

Reporting to the FC National Women’s Team Committee and the FC Board, the duties of the General Manager will include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

Develop and effectively manage Canada’s Women’s National Team for the 2009 World Championships.

·       Will assist in the selection of Team Staff and players.

·       Will abide by the FC National Team Selection policy.

·       Develop, organize, and manage the team budget.

·       Act as member of the Women’s National Committee.

·       Server as Liaison between FC, the International Floorball Federation and Tournament Organizers.

·       Book accommodations, team meals, and cultural activities.

·       In conjunction with Head Coach, schedule pre-tournament exhibition matches and team practice schedule.

·       Available to attend events and meetings as required by the FC National Team Committee.

·       Prepare reports as required by the FC National Team Committee.

·       Other duties as may be assigned by the FC National Team Committee.

Special Note:

Each individual member of the team is expected to cover costs of travel, accommodation, meals, etc for this tournament. Fundraising and Sponsorship activities will take place, but are not currently guaranteed to fully subsidize the expense. Estimated total cost is approximately $2000CDN (includes travel from Canada).

Qualifications:

·       Preferably, a Bachelor’s Degree from a recognized university (or equivalent).

·       Experience establishing and managing budgets.

·       Good spoken and written communication skills.

·       Fluency in French and/or Swedish an asset.
The successful applicant will have a demonstrated and proven record of budget management and sport administration skills. Strong communications and team building skills are essential and a demonstrated ability to work in a team environment, as well as independently, is critical. The applicant must be a proven self-starter with excellent time management and organizational skills.

Position: National Women’s Team Coach

Application Deadline: July 1, 2009   Starting Date: July 15, 2009

Job Description:
Floorball Canada is seeking an individual to fill the position of National Women’s National Team Coach. The position will be a 6 month term (July 2009 – December 2009).

PURPOSE

The mandate of the National Coach is to recruit, evaluate, select and lead Canada’s entry into the Women’s Floorball World Championships in Sweden (December 5-12^th, 2009).

DESCRIPTION

The key responsibilities of the National Coach will include development, implementation, and evaluation of the available pool of players in order to assemble a competitive entry at the World Championships.

Reporting to the FC National Women’s Team Committee and the FC Board, the duties of the National Coach will include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

·       Develop and effectively manage Canada’s Women’s National Team for the 2009 World Championships.

·       Will assist in the development, organization, and management of a talent identification and development protocol for Women players.

·       Will abide by the FC National Team Selection policy.

·       Act as member of the Women’s National Committee.

·       Develop, organize, and manage a talent identification and selection protocol for prospective assistant coaches and training staff.

·       Available to attend events and meetings as required by the FC National Team Committee.

·       Prepare reports as required by the FC National Team Committee.

·       Other duties as may be assigned by the FC National Team Committee.

Special Note:

Each individual member of the team is expected to cover costs of travel, accommodation, meals, etc for this tournament. Fundraising and Sponsorship activities will take place, but are not currently guaranteed to fully subsidize the expense. Estimated total cost is approximately $2000CDN (includes travel from Canada).

Qualifications:

·       Preferably, a minimum NCCP Level 2 certification (or equivalent) in the sport of Hockey, and/or,

·       Significant Floorball coaching experience in a competitive environment.

The successful applicant will have a demonstrated and proven record of coaching teams at a competitive level.   Strong communications and team building skills are essential and a demonstrated ability to work in a team environment, as well as independently, is critical. The applicant must be a proven self-starter with excellent time management and organizational skills. An aptitude to educate, train and mentor is also required.

Application Deadline:

If you satisfy the above requirements, interested candidates should submit:

·       Resume/CV

·       Cover Letter

by midnight EDT on July 1^st, 2009 to the National Teams Committee Chair.

All applications will be reviewed carefully to develop a short-list of candidates for interview. Floorball Canada thanks all those that apply however only those receiving an interview will be contacted. The successful candidate will be required to submit a criminal background check prior to assuming duties.

Contact Information:
Paul Charbonneau
Chair, National Teams Committee

Floorball Canada
72 Earl Grey Rd.
Toronto, ON, Canada
M4J 3L5
E-mail: paul@floorballcanada.ca
Tel. +1 647.588.8008
http://www.floorballcanada.ca

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June 10th, 2009

Canadian Women's Floorball Team Information

Eligibility

All players must:

Possess a valid Canadian Passport, to expire on or after May 13^th, 2010. (International Travel Regulation)
Have been born before January 1^st, 1993. (Must be at least 16 years old by the end of 2009.)
Be a registered Elite member of their Provincial Federation for the 2009-10 season. (International Players need not be members of any Provincial Federation, but must be registered FC members)
Be a registered member of Floorball Canada (FC) for the 2009-10 season.
Complete the attached registration form and return to Floorball Canada by the deadline.

Team Member Requirements

1. Each player must be able to cover the cost of travel to and from Vasteras, Sweden as well as room and board. Team Canada will be responsible for accommodation and food arrangements while at the World Championships while players will be responsible for securing their own means of travel. (The current estimate of costs is approx. $2,000.00 CAD.)

2. Team Members must be available to participate in Vasteras from:

December 3, 2009 – December 13, 2009

3. Games and/or practices will be scheduled for each day throughout this period.

4. Each player must submit a tryout fee and deposit by June 30, 2009. This includes:

a. A $200.00 refundable deposit. This will only be cashed if the eligible player is offered a position on the team roster and will be contributed toward the cost of participation.

b. A $50.00 non-refundable tryout fee.

c. Please provide 2 separate cheques for the payments - one for $200.00 and one for $50.00. The deposit fee will be held until final team is announced.

Team Selection

Only players who provide deposit and registration fees by the start of the tryout and meet all eligibility requirements will be considered.
There are 20 roster positions for the team, including 2 goaltender positions. Players will be selected based on skill, experience and commitment.
If there are more eligible players than available roster positions, tryouts will be held, with selections to be finalized by the FC National Team Selection Committee.
The final team selection will be announced in early August 2009.

Floorball Canada Responsibilities

The FC National Team Selection Committee will recruit and appoint all team staff members including: 1 Head Coach, up to 2 Assistant Coaches, up to 2 Trainers / Physiotherapists, 1 Media and Communications representative and 1 General Manager. Team staff is limited to 7 official positions as per IFF regulations.
FC will coordinate accommodations, team meals, transportation to and from playing venues and all practices and exhibition matches while in Finland.
FC, through its Title Sponsor (TBD), will provide Team Canada game uniforms. Other clothing and equipment provided will depend on the nature of the sponsorship agreement secured.
FC will provide Doping Control Training to all players prior to the World Floorball Championships.

Click here to complete the Online Player Information Sheet. Forms must be completed by June 30, 2009.

For more information, please contact Paul Charbonneau, Chair of the National Teams Committee at paul@floorballcanada.ca or 647-588-8008.

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May 14th, 2009

Team Canada Men's Player Belgian National Champion

Seppo Lattu, a member of the Canadian Men's National Floorball team in 2006 and 2008 finished a fantastic season with his club team - Speedhoc Brussels, winning the Belgian National Club Championship. Not only is Seppo their second leading scorer, but he also serves as their coach.

Congratulations Seppo on a great season and we look forward to seeing what you can do next year.

For more information on this story, click here.

To follow Sepp's team, visit their website Speedhoc Brussels.

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May 6th, 2009

Women's National Team Open Tryout

Floorball Canada will be holding an open tryout for the Women's National Team on May 18th from 11am-3pm at the Tait MacKenzie Centre at York University. Click here for directions.

The organizers of the Canada Cup Floorball Championships have gratiously made the gym space and equipment available at no cost, but have requested assistance from each of the tryout attendees to help with the take down efforts after the tryout.

The tryout is open to women who are Canadian citizens and will be at least 16 years old by December 31st, 2009. This tryout is open to women from across Canada who are interested in being considered for the National Team that will be competing at the Women's World Floorball Championships "B" Division from December 5th-12th, 2009 in Vasteras, Sweden.

The tryout includes a shooting school session with World-famous Floorball shooting guru Patrik Lönell at 11am. For more details on the shooting school, please visit http://salmingacademy.eventbrite.com . The cost for the shooting school portion of the tryout is $10 per person. We strongly recommend that all field players attend this unique opportunity to learn from one of the top Floorball instructors in the world.

Official registration and selection criteria details will be provided at this tryout and will be made available on the Floorball Canada website following the tryout. Depending on the interest levels, individual Provincial tryouts will be organized by the Provincial Federations. For more details about dates and times for the Provincial tryouts, please contact your Federation. All players selected to the National Team must be registered members of their Provincial Federation and are expected to cover their costs of attending the World Championships.

We hope see as many of the Canadian Team hopefuls as possible there.

For more details, please contact:

Paul Charbonneau

Chair, National Teams Committee

Floorball Canada

paul@floorballcanada.ca

647-588-80008

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PRESS RELEASE

CBHA & Floorball Canada

A partnership for the world to follow

The CBHA is proud to announce it has officially recognized Floorball Canada as an associate member. The goal of the CBHA has always been to provide and engage Canadians with affordable, safe and fun ways of playing the sport of hockey at a grassroots level. The objective of this union is to engage Canadians with additional forms of play. The games of ball hockey and floorball employ distinct rules and types of equipment, yet they are quite similar in that they augment the skills of a hockey player in totality. The playing seasons are complimentary, with floorball leagues operating mainly in the fall, winter and spring and ball hockey taking over our rinks in the summer. The partnership will offer hockey enthusiasts a wider range of options for off-ice play year round.

The CBHA sees this union as one where cross-pollination will help grow our sport and over time make our players stronger and more competitive. Because each game promotes somewhat unique athletic and hockey playing abilities, we believe those exposed to both sports will naturally become better rounded players. We see floorball players playing ball hockey, and ball hockey players playing Floorball, enhancing their success within either sport. Within our association, members of both sports will enjoy insurance coverage, training of officials and coaches, and be linked to events across the country and the globe. The sports will also join forces in executive discussions at Annual General Meetings and share information, with overall growth being the common objective.

We plan on being an even bigger player as part of the hockey mosaic of Canada; this union signals that fact.

In addition, the CBHA High Performance group is committed to Floorball Canada being integrated into its World Champion pedigree of Coaches and General Managers as part of encouraging the achievement of international-level prominence in Floorball. Make no mistake; the mandate of any Team Canada is to win hockey championships. CBHA High Performance Director George Gortsos states: “We will elevate Floorball by tapping into our strong pools of players, providing the knowledge we have used to dominate World Ball Hockey and in doing so minimizing the time it will take to compete at the level of Scandinavian countries who created Floorball and remained uncontested for years. Simply said, our goal is to bring Canada to the top where it belongs”.

When asked about the benefit of developing a partnership with the CBHA, Floorball Canada President, Randy Sa’d, stated: “Floorball has a great deal of potential in Canada and has already made tremendous strides in the short time it has been around. Working with the CBHA will allow us to leverage the extensive internal structures, government support and cross-Canada leadership the CBHA has worked tirelessly to establish over the past 30 years. We look forward to helping grow our collective membership base and organizational strength and in doing so, exemplifying how other nations can take advantage of the synergy that exists between ball hockey and floorball.”

CBHA President Domenic DiGironimo sees this as a signal to the hockey world that the CBHA is more than ever ready to take on the task of getting the game of hockey out to more and more Canadians. He states: “Partnering with Floorball provides our provincial associations and operators more opportunity to reach a greater number of players with the game of hockey. Floorball strengthens our ability to reach communities at the grassroots level; a winning strategy for all.”

It is our intention to show the World how these two sports can work in unison and thrive within an organization, and within its nation. Stay tuned for more news in the future.

If you have questions for either organization, please direct your inquiries to:

CBHA Executive Director, George Gortsos

56 Pennsylvania Ave, unit 5

Concord, ON L4K 3V9

905.738.3323

coach33@rogers.com

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TEAM BC TAKES GOLD AT THE FC CUP!

BC Floorball’s finest Floorball weekend has come to a close with the Men’s TEAM BC winning the FC CUP for the second year in a row. On the Women’s side, TEAM ONTARIO retained the FC CUP.

Nationals Logo

Congratulations to all the Players, Coaches, Referees, Volunteers and Spectators for all your efforts this past weekend. The Floorball community of Canada came together, in the true spirit of Floorball, and once again, the sport received an incredible amount of interest that will help fuel the growth of Floorball in our Canadian schools and community centers.

The Floorball weekend commenced with an in-depth Workshop/Seminar at the offices of Sport BC on thursday April 16th. We were extermely fortunate to have the greatest minds of the International Floorball Federation fly in from Helsinki and Bern to conduct the seminar. Mr. John Liljelund and Mr. Renato Orlando have a deep understanding of sport development and are the ones responsible for getting Floorball recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Their knowledge combined with their hands-on approach to mentoring Floorball enthusiasts in Canada will help shape the sport in Canada so that we can attain the level of participation in Floorball that is enjoyed by most European countries. It was also interesting to hear how the sport is flourishing in countries like, Singapore, China, Australia, Africa, India, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Nepal, Nicaragua etc…There are very few sports that have all of the positive features of Floorball; affordability, accessibility, gender equality, safety, and spirit.

Mr. Renato Orlando of the IFF at SPORT BC conducting a Seminar for Floorball Canada and BC Floorball

One of the highlights of our nationals floorball weekend was supposed to include a visit from Team India. They were en route to Vancouver but were refused access in to Canada due to entry visa issues. The tournament organizing committee had to turn on a dime to fill in key playing time slots and re-arrange a myriad of press and media plans that were scheduled to take place.

For the Men, the games got under way on Friday, playoffs were on Saturday and the gold medal match was played on Sunday. Team BC took first in the preliminary round playing Team Quebec in the semi-finals. After a victory, Team BC was on it’s way to finals to take on second place Team Ontario who had beat Team Alberta in the semis.

The Final match saw Team BC quickly get ahead to a 4-0 lead. The last period was intense as Team Ontario scored 3 goals to narrow the gap to 4-3. In the dying seconds, Team Ontario had a flurry of chances from free-hits but would come up short as MVP goalie Christopher Mohn shut the door on any comeback that was looming.

Team Alberta beat Team Quebec to capture third place.

from left to right back row: Greg Beaudin, Blair Zimmerman, Frederick Ackerman, Arek Prkdsziuk, Greg Rozitis, Johan Hoglund, Michael Lindgren, Coach-Karl Marits. left to right front row: Sami Valkaama, Denis Metz, Juha Kaitanen, Devan Petterson, Martin Palm, Christopher Mohn, Christian Kortman, Gustav Stahl

Tournament MVP went to BC Goalie Christopher Mohn and the Leading scorer was Greg Rozitis, both from team BC. On the Women’s side, Team Ontario’s Sonja Hotke was MVP and the the spirit of Floorball award went to BC’s Halimah Basrael.

Special thanks the Referee pair of Vince Faso and Calle Karlsson who came up from the US Floorball Association and to Sotaro Setoguchi who came from Toronto to referee.

Their were so many highlights to the weekend, none bigger than the Richmond Oval itself, The Oval proved to be the most visually stunning and architecturally wondrous gym facility that anyone had ever seen.

The Hilton Richmond was a gracious host Hotel and many thanks to prize donors Floorball Pro and concession host Modern Hockey, the Thomas Haas chocolate bars were a huge hit.

BC Floorball President Greg Beaudin with IFF Secretary General John Liljelund.

From the Organizing team at BC Floorball, we would like to thank everyone for partcipating in this years Nationals weekend, and as the President of Floorball Canada, Randy Sa’d commented “BC has set a new high standard for the Canadian Nationals”

This event was a collaborative effort between Floorball Canada and BC Floorball, and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to Mr John Liljelund, Secretary General of the IFF, along withe Renato Orlando of the IFF for being here with us to help educate our nation about Floorball.

Richmond Oval

Telus Cup Preview

repost from: http://www.salmingfloorball.com/blogs/juha-mikkola/telus-cup.aspx

Ontario's Top Midget Players share a serious love for floorball...

The Hamilton Midget AAA's team, which includes the following members of Team Canada's Under-19 Floorball National Team and Team Salming: Joel Inoye, Dennon Koziol, Andrew Radjenovic, Pat Root and Cal Smith, have qualified to play at the National Midget Championships (Telus Cup) in Selkirk, Manitoba April 21-26.

Since 1977, Canada’s National Midget Championship can lay claim to the fact that at least 175 of its graduates have gone on to the NHL. The Cup is an annual competition involving five regional champions declared from inter-branch play-downs with the host club comprising the sixth team in the competition. The six-day championship builds to the TELUS Cup Championship game which is broadcast on The Sports Network (TSN) and Le Reseau des Sports (RDS) Networks.

I caught up with Anthony Herrington, who has coached the five boys at their high school Sherwood Secondary in Hamilton and is also the Head Coach of the Under-19 Floorball National Team.

How do you think being part of the Hockey Canada Skills Academy in Hamilton has helped the boys get to this level?

The HCSA program at Sherwood has given these 5 players extra training time to develop their individual skills. All of these players have taken the hockey course in grades 9, 10 and 11. That is over 600 extra hours of skill training over the past 3 years. It takes more than individual skills to win championships, therefore the team they play for deserves the credit. It is nice to see the boys get rewarded for their hard work and committment to training over the past few years.

Floorball is a huge part of Sherwood's hockey culture -- and a daily activity for Joel, Dennon, Cal, Andrew and Pat. Since they started playing floorball, how have you seen that floorball has improved their hockey skills?

I can honestly say I have seen a huge improvement in all of their hockey stick skills (passing, shooting, stickhandling). You notice little things like crisper passes, more accurate shots with faster releases, and finally the ability to stickhandle in tight situations. Eye hand co-ordination is another area that has been developed, as these players can pick pucks out of the air, for tips and rebounds, and even along the boards for defencemen keeping it in at the blueline. It is amazing to see the positive relationship for skill training that floorball has given them. Aside from skating, floorball training is by far the best thing to do to improve your skill set. It is also very addicting, as the boys want to play everyday!!

The boys have been selected to represent Canada at the U19 World Floorball Championships in May, what type of affect has the experience of being part of the National Team program had on the boys so far? Would you recommend this for other aspiring hockey players?

I think since being selected to the U-19 Team, it has opened up the "world" of Floorball for the boys in Canada. Prior to this it was just a fun game played in gym class. Now the boys see that it is played all over the world and at very high levels. It has also got them connected to other players across the province and the entire country. They are the first U-19 group to represent Canada at the Worlds, so it is a very special honour. I think the future of floorball in Canada will grow once they come back from the tournament in May. Any aspiring hockey player should consider this sport as it is a fun way to improve your skills and if you are serious, represent your country.

Most European NHL players -- especially the younger generation -- already play floorball growing up. Household names like Gaborik, Hossa and Sundin are at the top of this list. NHL Players like Heatley, Sakic, MacInnis and Yzerman all played at the Telus Cup before breaking into the NHL. Do you think the Hamilton boys have shot at the NHL and if so, do you think other Canadian kids will play start to play floorball to improve their chances of having a pro hockey career?

It is hard to say who will "make it" to the NHL, and it is also difficult to say that floorball will help them get there. I think every hockey player is always looking for something to help them improve their game and to take it to the next level. If Floorball does it for these players, or any other player in Canada for that matter, it would be amazing to see. I do think however, that people will notice these players from Hamilton and they will want to know how they became better hockey players and of course better floorball players.

Thanks for your time Anthony!

CBHA & Floorball Canada Partner Up!

posted ‎‎Apr 24, 2009 2:01 PM‎‎ by Greg Beaudin