Jason La Rose
Canada’s Paralympic Hockey Team finally gets into game action Saturday in Milan, with a first-time-ever matchup against Slovakia kicking off preliminary-round play at Milano Santagiulia Arena.
Last Game
Canada closed out its brief, two-game pre-tournament schedule with a 4-0 win over host Italy last Friday in Varese. Dominic Cozzolino and James Dunn provided a goal and an assist for the Canadians, Adam Dixon and Tyler McGregor also found the scoresheet and Corbin Watson needed to make just seven saves for the shutout.
The Slovaks participated in a pre-Paralympic tournament in Italy in late January, finishing third of four teams after a 6-1 win over Japan in the bronze medal game. They dropped a nail-biter in the semifinals, getting within a goal in the final minutes of a 3-2 loss to the host Italians.
Last Meeting
There wasn’t one. Despite competing at the World Para Hockey Championship together in 2021, 2024 and 2025, and at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, this is the first time Canada and Slovakia will face off.
What to Watch
For the Canadians, their gold medal chances begin and end with their heart-and-soul captain, Tyler McGregor. The Forest, Ontario, product will serve as flag bearer alongside para nordic skier Natalie Wilkie during the Opening Ceremony on Friday, and then will make a little history on Saturday—the Paralympic opener will be the 200th game of McGregor’s international career, making him just the fifth player in Team Canada history to reach the milestone (joining Adam Dixon, Billy Bridges, Greg Westlake and Brad Bowden). He has been terrific on the ice this season, leading Canada with 22 points (15-7—22) in 12 games, and recording at least a point in all 10 games in which the Canadians have scored. McGregor has also been very good at the Paralympics—he had 13 points (8-5—13) in five games at PyeongChang 2018 and followed that up with eight points (5-3—8) in four games at Beijing 2022.
Martin Joppa is the offensive catalyst for the Slovaks. He earned Most Valuable Player honours at the Paralympic qualification tournament last November in Norway, posting a tournament-best 14 points (7-7—14) in five games. He was at his best in the biggest games, recording a pair of assists in a 2-1 win over Sweden, opening and closing the scoring in a 3-1 win over the host Norwegians and netting the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over South Korea that clinched a place in Milan for the Slovaks. How vital has Joppa been to his country’s success? In the four top-level tournaments Slovakia has participated in (three world championships and a Paralympics), it has scored 21 goals—and Joppa has been in on 16 of them (11 goals, five assists).
A Look Back
As mentioned above, there’s nothing to look back on.