Winnipeg gears up to host ball hockey nationals
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This article was published 20/07/2022 (1195 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Canada’s top junior ball hockey players are gearing up for the Canadian Junior National Championships, which will take place in Winnipeg from July 28 to 31.
Over 40 teams from across the nation will be competing at three different rinks — Keith Bodley Arena, Bell MTS Iceplex and Canada Life Centre, home of the Winnipeg Jets.
“We’re very excited. Typically junior events and stuff like that, they’re not playing in facilities of that calibre,” said Jeff Dzikowicz, technical director of the Manitoba Ball Hockey Association.
“Fourteen- and 15-year-old boys and girls are going to get an experience that they wouldn’t normally get, being on an NHL rink with the big score clock and all that stuff.”
But there are a few among the ranks of Manitoba’s ball hockey players that have a shot to have the experience once again, somewhere down the line.
“We have Western Hockey League players on all the boys teams. We got AAA players and stuff on the girls’ teams, and even some NHL draft picks on the teams,” Dzikowicz said. “It’s mostly high-level ice hockey players that are playing it, but there are some sort of breakthrough players that don’t play ice hockey that happen to be very good at ball hockey.”
Dzikowicz said ball hockey registration took a big hit, as many other sports did, during the pandemic, but numbers are again on the rise.
With minimal equipment, no need to learn to skate nor pay higher fees to rent ice, he said ball hockey provides an easy way into the Canadian hockey culture.
“You often see a lot of newer immigrants, this is their access into the hockey world. Because they come from a country where ice hockey is not a thing… this is definitely an accessible version of it,” he said.
Dzikowicz said ball hockey has been growing in Canada, the U.S., Europe and even in several other places around the world, including Indonesia.
Paul Kastes coaches Manitoba’s under-19 boys’ team, and serves as general manager for several other teams.
He said the players on his team love the sport for several reasons.
“On the physical fitness side of things, cardio-wise, there’s no substitute for it. They find it really quick when you can’t glide like on skates, so you’re running the whole time,” Kastes said. “There’s also a lot of hand work and hand-eye. The ball bounces a lot more than a puck…. It’s a great off-season program and it’s fun. These guys have a great time while they do it, and they compete hard, so it keeps them in competition mode throughout the summer, as well.”
Kastes said he’ll be rooting for all of Manitoba’s teams to win national championships in their respective divisions, and he thinks the team he coaches has what it takes to do just that.
“For us, it’s gold or nothing — gold or bust. We’re in it to win it this year, and I think we have a great chance,” he said.
The tournament starts with a two-pool round robin, after which teams are divided into two tiers. Only teams that make it to the A-side will have the chance to compete for the championship.
Find more information at www.manitobaballhockey.com
Cody Sellar
Cody Sellar was a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review.
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Cody Sellar
Cody Sellar was a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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