IPOH – Canada hockey head coach Patrick Tshutshani hopes his young charges learn from their mistakes in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and improve if they hope to succeed in the Men’s Nations Cup in Poland.
The Nations Cup is scheduled to take place from May 31 to June 9.
Tshutshani’s response came after his side’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of Japan in their final pool match at the Azlan Shah Stadium last night.
Canada have made three appearances in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (1995, 1999 and 2019) since its inception in 1983 and have scored a total of eight goals and conceded 22 in five games in this year’s tournament.
Known as the “Red Caribou” by their fans, Canada will face the world-number-12-ranked South Korea in their fifth-and-sixth-place classification match today.
Tshutshani emphasised that his coaching team would need to put in the hours to ensure his team’s defence stayed compact ahead of the Nations Cup.
Canada, ranked 20th in the world, are grouped with France, Malaysia and Pakistan in Pool B in the Nations Cup.
“We need to fix our backline as it has been really fragile in our Sultan Azlan Shah Cup campaign. We have been playing some good hockey with the young lads that we have, but we need to do better in the Nations Cup.
“The Nations Cup is going to be even tougher than the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup as we will be facing some of the top European teams. Hence, we need to be serious about what we are doing.
“I’m just hoping that my charges can put in more effort by using the experience that they gained at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
“The pool of talent in Canada is huge, and the boys have a lot of potential. We will keep experimenting with the players that we have by giving them more tournament exposure,” said Tshutshani during a post-match press conference yesterday.
At the same time, Tshutshani also commended his junior player Jude Nicholson for quickly adapting to his team and hopes to see him excel for Canada in the future.
Nicholson, 17, was part of the Canada side that finished 16th in December’s Men’s Junior World Cup, where they conceded a total of 38 goals across six games.
“Nicholson is an exceptional talent, and he has been showing what he can do whenever he steps onto the turf. He has adapted well to the team, and he has been getting a warm reception from the senior players within the team,” said Tshutshani.
“He is still young, and he has so much more to learn. I wish Nicholson continues to maintain his fine form, and I hope to see him play in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics or the World Cup.”
For the record, Canada have made eight appearances in the Olympics, six in the senior Men’s World Cup, and 15 in the Pan American Games, where they have clinched the title four times (1983, 1987, 1999 and 2007). – May 11, 2024