Canada looks to make a statement at wheelchair rugby world championships

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – Canada’s wheelchair rugby veterans are excited about the infusion of youth on the squad for not only the world championships which begin Monday August 17 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but for the run to LA28.

‘’This team’s hungry,’’ said Matt Debly, one of eight members with Paralympic Games experience. ‘’There’s some new guys on the team, and they bring so much energy and so much talent that it’s really a breath of fresh air for us.

‘’We want to prove to the world that we may look different but we can still compete and we’re going to take it to them.’’

There are four newcomers on the team: Maxime Drolet-Gauthier and Yanick Racicot, both of Montreal, Reese Ketler of Winnipeg and Austin MacLellan of Fredericton.

MacLellan is the first national team player from New Brunswick. He was named Division 1 MVP in May at the Canadian championships.

“I didn’t envision making Team Canada right away,’’ said MacLellan. ‘’I knew it would take a lot of hard work and dedication to get there. It wasn’t an overnight thing. I just left the door completely open for whatever growth the sport had for me.”

The returning veterans are: Debly, from Windsor, Ont., Cody Caldwell of Peterborough, Ont., Byron Green of Victoria, Rio Kanda Kovac of Toronto, Anthony Létourneau of Boisbriand, Que., Travis Murao of Toronto, Eric Rodrigues of Mississauga, Ont., and Patrice Simard of Quebec City.

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Green, a three-time Paralympian, says Canada’s mix of youth and veterans brings a new dimension.

‘’I’m excited to maybe surprise a few teams there and put up some really good results that maybe other teams aren’t expecting from us,’’ said Green.

Canada, ranked No 6 in the world, opens the preliminary round against second ranked Australia on August 17. Then it faces No 7 Brazil August 18, third-ranked USA August 19 and play two matches August 20 against 13^th ranked the Netherlands and No 10 New Zealand. The quarterfinals are August 21, the semifinals August 22 and the medal matches August 23.

The other pool is comprised of number-one Japan, Great Britain (4), France (5), Denmark (8), Germany (9) and Colombia (11).

Unlike the recent world championships in goalball and sitting volleyball, these worlds are not a qualifier for the 2028 Paralympic Games. The big qualifier for Canada in wheelchair rugby is the Parapan American Games next year in Lima, Peru.

‘’Every competition that we’re in right now is super important,’’ said Canada’s head coach Trevor Hirschfield, after he put his troops through another heart pumping training session at a national camp at Brock University.

‘’It gives us an opportunity to work on different skills and strategies, and it gives our younger players opportunities to grow and get confidence.

‘’Every step that we’re taking as a team is going to add up, and for us, that’s what’s important right now. Getting into a major competition like worlds and playing the best teams, testing ourselves against them, seeing where we need to grow. It’s great for our athletes and just the long-term goals that we have.’’

At the 2024 Paralympic Games, Japan won the gold, the U.S. silver and Australia the bronze. Canada placed sixth.

At the last world championships in 2022, it was Australia first, U.S. second and Japan third. Canada was fifth.

You can watch the World Championship live on the WWR YouTube channel.