Manitoba’s U15 boys ball hockey team the best in Canada

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This article was published 30/07/2024 (494 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From a last-minute assembly to national ball hockey champions, the U15 Boys Team Manitoba went from having a shortage of players and no coach just six weeks ago to capturing gold at the Junior National Championships in Saskatoon this past Saturday.

Dustin Kelly, the coach and former star player on the Canadian National team, was asked to coach the squad a little over a month ago.

“We really kind of put it together last minute,” Kelly said Tuesday. “We got the right kids to come out, a lot of kids that weren’t even playing ball hockey. We got them out and we’ve made lifetime ball hockey players out of these young kids because they loved every second of it.”

The team, comprised of 21 players from provincial tryouts in June, went on a 5-0-1 run in the tournament, beating Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. on their way to the finals.

The battle for gold between Team Manitoba and Team New Tech Xtreme of Ontario did not disappoint, with the final game extending to a thrilling double overtime. WHL draft pick Madden Tymchak scored the winning goal, sealing the victory for Team Manitoba.

“That meant everything to them,” Kelly said of the win. “The U15 division is the first year they can go to a national championship. So it’s cool for them, because no one’s ever done it or seen it, and you’re seeing provinces from all over Canada.”

Kelly said team defence was Manitoba’s biggest strength throughout the tournament.

“The kids bought into the systems that we implemented and how they should play the game,” said Kelly. “We were fast, we had some really high-end, ice hockey talent on our team too. Defensively, we were strong. We didn’t give up a ton of chances and then had a few guys on our team that were really really good goalscorers and that helped a ton.”

Tymchack, who scored the tournament-winning OT goal, was named top defencemen. In goal, Maddox Slater went undefeated alongside his goaltending partner Zach Houtkooper.

On the offensive side of things, Nolan Harding led the tournament in scoring, with his teammates Prabh Bathahl and Issac Sousa earning the fifth and sixth spots in the scoring race. Harding and Sousa were named all-star forwards and Sousa was named tournament MVP.

“We’re the little guy,” said Kelly. “We don’t get a ton of respect at these tournaments because Manitoba is not really ever considered to be strong. So we were the underdog the whole tournament, and we took that and ran with it and I think it helped us play a lot better.”

Meanwhile, the U17 Team Manitoba Girls won silver, while the U17 and U19 Boys, as well as the U20 Girls, each secured fourth place in their respective divisions.

Next week, the Canadian Ball Hockey Association 2024 Nationals will be coming to Winnipeg for the Men’s and Women’s A Legends and Masters tournaments from August 5-10. Kelly will be one of the athletes competing.

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca