Two young men from Warman will be wearing the maple leaf at the 2024 World Junior Ball Hockey championship tournament in Zilinia, Slovakia July 4-7.
Trey Markus and Austin Pacik are among 20 young Canadians named to the national U18 Men’s Ball Hockey Team. They’re the only two players from Saskatchewan, and they both hail from Warman.
“It’s very exciting,” said Darla Schiebelbein, Austin Pacik’s mother. “To have two members of Team Saskatchewan’s U17 ball hockey team selected to play for Team Canada brings a nice balance to the national team. In past years it’s been heavily-weighted with players from Ontario, BC and Newfoundland.”
The 2024 U18 Men’s Ball Hockey World Championship in Slovakia will see six countries competing for the crown, including Canada, Great Britain, the United States, Switzerland, Czechia and Slovakia.
Schiebelbein, manager of the Team Sask Boys U17 Ball Hockey team, and a former national women’s ball hockey team member, said having the opportunity to compete on the world stage will be a great experience for both young men.
Markus and Pacik played for Team Sask last year at a national championship tournament in Newfoundland, and scouts were at that event with an eye to finalize the roster for the U18 national team.
Making the national squad has been a goal for Pacik for the last three years, according to his mother.
“He attended an evaluation camp in Calgary in 2021 and has had his sights set on being chosen for the national team since then,” she said. “Now that the opportunity has come up, it’s very exciting. He’s going to make the most of that opportunity.”
Pacik currently plays in the Saskatchewan Premier Ball Hockey League. He was drafted by the elite men’s league. when he was 15, making him the youngest player ever to make the cut at the highest level.
Markus, a star player with the Warman U18AAA Wildcats, is likely to be more familiar to hockey fans in the area.
“Trey has only been playing ball hockey for a year,” said Schiebelbein. “But his natural athletic ability and hockey skills allowed him to transition to ball hockey really quickly. He’s a big strong, fast presence out there, and he brings a lot to the team.”
Schiebelbein said one of the biggest adjustments ice hockey players need to make when they play competitive ball hockey is getting used to running.
“There’s no gliding on skates in this game,” said Schiebelbein. “You’re running all the time, so there’s a lot of cardio and conditioning involved.
“Also, you’re using a hard, weighted ball, so it comes off your stick differently when you’re shooting and passing. At the international elite level, some of the players’ shots have a velocity of 100 kilometers an hour.”
She said there are also some differences in rules, particularly offside.
“There’s a floating blue line,” she said.
Markus, Pacik and the rest of the players with Team Canada leave for Europe on Saturday, June 29.
The results of the world junior championship tournament will be posted online during the event at www.canadaballhockey.ca .
This summer will also see several national ball hockey championship tournaments in western Canada.
Saskatoon is hosting the Junior Nationals July 23-27, which will see teams from across the country competing in six divisions: Girls U17 and U20; and Boys U15, U17, U19 and U23. Additional details are online at the Canadian Ball Hockey website.
The Men’s and Women’s National Ball Hockey Championships are slated for Edmonton July 16-20; and the Men’s and Women’s Masters Ball Hockey national championships take place in Winnipeg August 5-10.