Newfoundlander Liam Hickey may be young, but he’s an old hand for Canada

St. John’s athlete, 21, will soon be attending his fourth national senior men’s para hockey selection camp

Newfoundlander Liam Hickey (23) has already won five medals at major international para hockey events with Canadian teams, including gold at the 2017 Winter Paralympics in South Korea. - Canadian Paralympic Committee

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — He’s still just 21, but Liam Hickey of St. John’s will carry a veteran’s label when he attends the Canadian para hockey team’s selection camp later this month.

Hickey, who has been part of Team Canada since 2016, is one of 30 players invited to the nine-day camp, being held at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park Aug. 30-Sept. 7. Activities include fitness testing, classroom lectures and workshops, intrasquad games and match-ups against Japan’s national team.

It’s a large part of the evaluation process to determine which players will represent Canada in international competition during the 2019-20 season, but it is hard not to imagine Hickey not being on the final roster, especially with the national team kicking off its 2019-20 competitive season with an event in Newfoundland.

But it’s not because that he would be a local attraction for the 2019 Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup in Paradise that makes Hickey a good bet to make the team again.

He’s one of 15 players invited to the camp who were part of the Canadian entry that won a silver medal at the 2018 IPC World Para Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic. At that event, the Canadians were denied a second straight gold (they had won the 2017 world title) with a 3-2 overtime loss to the United States.

Hickey also won silver with Canada at the 2018 Parlympic Winter Games in Korea and the 2016 and 2017 World Sledge Hockey Challenges.

What’s more, he’s proved to be extremely versatile. Hickey began his international career as a scoring forward, but moved to defence last year at the request of national team head coachj Ken Babey, and he’s listed on defence for the Calgary camp.

Joining Babey on the coaching staff at the selection camp are former National Hockey League players Mike Foligno and Mike Fountain (Gravenhurst, Ont.) and group of guest coaches that includes two other ex-NHLers, Dan and Don Nachbaur.

Following the selection camp, players will participate in training and regional camps before a roster is named for the Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup at the Paradise Double Ice Complex Dec. 1-7.