Well, it has been quite a while since I've last posted something new to this Rugby Road Journal, and as the team is about to embark once again on a series of back-to-back international tournaments in the States, I thought it best to get the Journal rolling once again.


Here is a team photo taken by yours truly, at the National Team Training Camp, which was held last December at Confederation High School in Ottawa. Back Row: Stéphan Charbonneau (Equipment Manager), Jennifer Cadieux (Medical), Cathy Cadieux (Team Leader), and Benoit Labrecque (Assistant Coach); Middle Row: Joe Soares (Head Coach), Mike Bacon (1.0), Garett Hickling (Co-Captain, 3.5), Ian Crowe (2.0), Mike Whitehead (3.0), Steven Dunn (3.0), Ian Chan (3.0), Fabien Lavoie (3.0), Trevor Robinson (2.0); Front Row: Martin Mainguy (0.5), Daniel Paradis (0.5), Patrice Simard (1.5), Daryl Stubel (2.0, with the IWRF World Championships Trophy), Dave Gagné (1.5), Jared Funk (0.5), Say Luangkhamdeng (2.5), and David Willsie (Co-Captain, 2.0); Missing: Marco Dispaltro (Manager), Allan Semeniuk (2.0) and Adam Frost (2.5).

We will once again be forming two distinct teams for these tournaments. The higher-seeded team will be Les Nordiques du Canada, while our development team will be the members of Canada Ice. Rosters for all teams at the Coloplast International and the Demolition Derby are just a click away, while tournament information and schedules are available through the links in the margin of this page.

During pool play, the Nordiques, who are seeded 2nd at both tournaments, will meet the #4 and #7 ranked teams in the USQRA (Texas Stampede and the Tampa Generals) at the Coloplast International, while they meet Texas again at the Demolition Derby as well as the Lakeshore Foundation team. The Ice, who are ranked 10th at the Tampa tournament, will meet the Australian "Development" Team and the #2 ranked team in the USQRA, the Phoenix Heat. At the next tournament, where they are seeded 8th, the Ice will meet Great Britain and Germany.