June 05, 2022: Canada’s men’s coach, Ben Josephson, has announced the players who will represent Canada in Ottawa as Volleyball Nations League (VNL) kicks off for the men on June 7 at the Arena at TD Place.
 
"The group of men we’ve chosen to represent Canada at the Ottawa leg of the VNL is a great blend of experience, physicality, and skill,” explains Josephson, who is in his first year as head coach of Team Canada.
 
"The selection of this roster was incredibly hard due to the depth of talent we have in Canada right now. It is exciting that we have so many athletes who are ready and capable of 'repping the leaf' on the VNL stage. We cannot wait to see how this group’s preparation these past weeks will translate into performance in Ottawa in front of our amazing Canadian volleyball fans as we kick off this new era of Canadian men’s volleyball."
 
The roster includes five Olympians from the Tokyo Games (Blankenau, Maar, Sclater, Hoag and Van Berkel), and a mix of up-and-coming talent and familiar faces.
 
The men’s teams playing in Ottawa at the Arena at TD Place include Canada, Poland, France (Olympic gold medalists), Serbia, Argentina, Italy, Germany and Bulgaria. This will be the first major event for Canada since the Olympics in Tokyo. Each team plays four of the six days. More info and tickets here: https://www.tdplace.ca/event/volleyball-nations-league/
 
The FIVB’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) is a flagship annual volleyball event that was established in 2018. The new format of the competition will see 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams competing in pools of eight teams during the pool phase.
 
The event is streamed at www.cbcsports.ca and VBTV.
 
Roster (week 1)
Jay Blankenau, Sherwood Park, AB
Brett Walsh, Calgary, AB    
Ryan Sclater, Port Coquitlam, BC
Brodie Hofer, Langley, BC
Stephen Maar, Aurora, ON
Nicholas Hoag, Sherbrooke, QC (captain)
Ryley Barnes, Edmonton, AB
Mathias Elser, Calgary, AB
Justin Lui, Pickering, ON
Lucas Van Berkel, Edmonton, AB
Pearce Eshenko, Banff, AB
Jackson Howe, Calgary, AB
Marc Wilson, Stratford, ON
Jesse Elser, Calgary, AB
 
Staff (week 1)
Head coach: Ben Josephson
Assistant coach: Joe Trinsey
Assistant coach: Stefan Hübner
Sport Physiotherapist: Jovana Smoljanic
Strength and conditioning : Michael Cook
Statistician: David Dantes
Team manager: Julien Boucher
 

• Members of the media requiring accreditation for the Ottawa (men) or Calgary (women) VNL matches, please contact Jackie Skender
• Tickets for the men's VNL in Ottawa are on sale at https://www.tdplace.ca/event/volleyball-nations-league/
  

Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender
Mobile: 613.794.7676

Photo: Michael P. Hall