Three men who once lived in the Town of Erin have been named to Team Canada’s sledge hockey team, which will compete in the upcoming 2018 Paralympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
The 17-player roster announced by Hockey Canada on Feb. 11 includes defencemen Rob Armstrong and Brad Bowden and forward Bryan Sholomicki.
Bowden, 34, an Orton native, will compete in his fifth Winter Paralympics with the team.
In the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City, the Canadian team placed 4th. In 2006 in Turin, it won gold.
The team again came home without a medal in Vancouver in 2010, placing 4th, but then captured gold in 2014 in Sochi, Russia.
Bowden, who was born with sacral agenesis, a spinal deformity, is hoping to capture gold again.
“There’s always pressure. I also know what it’s like to come home with nothing and that sucks,” he said. “To come home with any medal is always a great thing from the Paralympics, but I mean, we’re going for gold.”
He said he is excited to make the team again.
“It’s just a way for me to prove that I still have what it takes to be a part of the group,” he said.
“I look at … everything that I’ve been through and I’m kind of proud that I’ve been able to hang it out and age well in the sport.”
Bowden, who also won gold in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in wheelchair basketball, will be sharing the blue line in PyeongChang with teammate Armstrong.
“We’re both from the same area. We didn’t know anything about each other and now here we are playing on Team Canada, working together on defense,” said Bowden.
Armstrong, 21, of Erin, has been playing for about 10 years. He suffered a spinal cord injury when a virus attacked his spine when he was six years old.
He said he was “hooked” after trying sledge hockey for the first time.
Armstrong noted he’s excited to play with veteran players, who are his teammates and role models.
“They just made everything so comfortable for me,” said Armstrong, who added that competing in his first Paralympics will be a “dream come true.”
“Being able to represent Canada, and even represent my town and my family and friends at the highest stage, it’s hard to put into words,” he said.
This will be also be Sholomicki’s first Paralympics.
He started playing sledge hockey in 2013 after his leg was amputated following a major motorcycle crash. He lived in Erin in the late 1990s and attended Erin District High School.
“It means the world to me to be able to put on the Canadian jersey and represent this great country of ours,” Sholomicki said.
The 37-year-old added he is looking forward to competing for the gold medal.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a young boy and I am truly honoured to have been selected to the team,” he said.
While none of the athletes live in Erin any longer, they were all delighted to hear about upgrades to the Hillsburgh arena to allow sledge hockey.
“Having more and more accessible rinks offers so many more opportunities for kids and adults to get out and try the sport or even just practice their skills if they are at an advanced level of sledge,” said Sholomicki.
Bowden said, “I’m a really big advocate for inclusive sport and I think every rink should be adaptable. I think it’s an amazing thing that they’re doing.”
Armstrong said he was looking forward to seeing the improvements in Hillsburgh.
The Paralympic Games begin on March 9.
