New Westminster’s Brenden Bissett was named to Canada’s men’s national field hockey team pre-Olympic tour, which will go towards choosing the 18 athletes who will go to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
A forward with 49 caps to his record, 23-year-old Bissett headed to Europe for the tour that began June 6 and runs until June 21, with the squad playing matches against Olympic-bound Ireland and Spain.
The Canadians will play Ireland four times, twice in Belfast and twice in Dublin, before moving on to face Spain three times in Madrid.
It’s the same roster that competed for Canada at the 2016 Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Malaysia, where they finished sixth.
The lineup also includes Burnaby’s Gabriel Ho-Garcia, a forward with 76 caps.
The European tour presents the final preparation phase for Canada before the roster is whittled down to 16 athletes and two reserves for Rio.
Once the roster has been finalized, the Canadian team will host the U.S. for a summer send-off series, a three-game test to be played in Surrey and West Vancouver, July 7, 9 and 10.
