Team Manitoba Is Ready

Major championships are being played in professional leagues across North America, but there are a handful of amateur championships that still need to be decided before the hockey season wraps up and summer can begin. One of those tournaments happens in Montreal in two weeks as teams from across Canada will arrive in Quebec for the Canadian Parahockey Championship at the Complexe Gilles-Chabot in Boucherville from May 18-21! As teams are picked to determine which province will stand atop the sledge hockey mountain in this country, Team Manitoba has named its players as the middle province looks to conquer all provinces in Quebec!

Let's take a look at who will wear the Manitoba jersey in Montreal.

The Manitobans will be solid in the crease as Logan Bilodeau and Kyle Calder - two former guests on The Hockey Show - will protect the net. Bilodeau has recently returned from Team Canada's camp so he should be ready for a national championship, and we heard Kyle Calder talking about how excited he was to get out to Montreal a couple of weeks ago on The Hockey Show. Both men will be key players for Team Manitoba if they are to medal.

You might be looking at that Manitoba defence that has a significant Quebec flair to it, but there's no hard-and-fast rule about where players need to be born or live for them to suit up. Corinne Wengi, the lone Manitoban in the Manitoba defence, is a member of Canada's women's national team, so they have a good foundation on the blue line. Added to her talents will be the skills of Team Canada defender Émilie Charron-Pilotte, so Manitoba will be strong. Both Pascal Raymond and Caleb Davies don't have international experience, but they'll defend the Manitoba zone as well.

Manitoba has a number of scrappy, hard-working forwards who will make life difficult for their opponents in Montreal. The Armbruster brothers are a solid trio who could make a lot of noise for Team Manitoba, and Alyssa White should fly up and down the ice just as she does with the Canadian women's team. It may be a score-by-committee effort for Manitoba as they don't have that one player who will find twine whenever the puck finds his or her stick, but this may benefit the team as it's harder to single out one specific scorer. Manitoba's depth should prove valuable if they can get the scoring going early in the tournament.

Quebec is the defending champion for this national championship, so they'll have the home crowd on their side as they look to defend their title. Manitoba finished fourth at last year's tournament after going 1-5-0 in the event, so they're looking to improve on those numbers as seven provinces will have teams at the 2023 Canadian Para Hockey Championship. Games will be streamed with announcers, so keep your eyes on this space for those details as we get closer to puck drop on May 18!

Manitoba is ready for Montreal. Will the rest of Canada be ready for them? That question will be answered from May 18-21 at the 2023 Canadian Para Hockey Championship!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!