Just mere days after setting a new Sask West Hockey League scoring record on the ice, Battlefords native and current Warman resident, Brock Harrison was on a plane to Puerto Plata of the Dominican Republic, swapping out his skates for running shoes, to represent Canada on the world ball hockey stage.
Donning the country’s iconic Maple Leaf at the 4-on-4 Ball Hockey World Championship, which officially kicked off Wednesday and will run until Sunday (Nov. 8-12), this marks already the third time in the last two years Harrison will play for his country on the international stage.
He was a key piece of Canada’s bronze medal win at last year’s Men’s Masters Championship in Kladno and Nové Strašecí, Czech Republic, leading the tournament in scoring with 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in eight games.
In August of this year, he then followed up the performance with the Saskatchewan Mammoth at the 5-on-5 Worlds in Buffalo, NY. There, Harrison earned Top Forward honours, finishing just a point back of the tournament scoring lead with 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in seven games, as the Mammoth finished just shy of the podium in fourth place, with a 3-1 loss to Greece in the bronze medal game.
“I’ve traveled all over Canada and all over the world with ball hockey, and I’ve been lucky that our team’s been quite successful,” Harrison said taking a moment to reflect on his various tournament experiences. “Ball hockey’s kind of been getting bigger and bigger, so for a small province like Saskatchewan to be competing against countries and doing [as well as we have] is pretty exciting.”
Through Canada’s first two games of their current tournament in Puerto Plata, DO., the team leads the world standings with a perfect 2-0-0 record, with wins over Slovakia (6-1 in their opener) and ‘North America’ 4-1, with Harrison’s four points (all assists) first on the team and just a single back of the tournament lead.
Team Canada will return to play Friday morning against Great Britain at 9 a.m. Saskatchewan time.
Looking ahead
Beyond this week’s tournament to cap the 2023 world ball hockey schedule, it looked for a brief period of time like Harrison might get some experience behind the bench next year, as he was recently named coach of the 2024 Men’s Canadian Team for the 45+ Legends Tournament, next summer.
However, that was only until he became eligible to suit up for the team in a playing capacity, following an announcement by the World Ball and Dek Hockey Federation just days later.
“The federation made a rule that you’re allowed four underage players, so now I’m not coaching, I’m playing on that team Canada as one of the underage players,” Harrison said with a laugh, seemingly leaning into the irony of being an ‘under-ager’ in his early 40s.
He said any time he’s able to play for his country it’s a special opportunity, and always has been.
“It’s kind of been a whirlwind, but it’s a lot of opportunity and it’s been a good ride,” Harrison said. “I know there’s not too many more years left here so I’m trying to hold on as long as I can.”
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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com
On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1
