Greg Westlake returns to lead Canada's national sledge hockey team
Veteran has served as captain since the 2011-12 season
Veteran players Greg Westlake, Brad Bowden and Billy Bridges will anchor a youthful 19-man Canadian sledge hockey team this season.
Westlake resumes his role as team captain, which he first assumed in the 2011-12 season.
Tyler McGregor, Adam Dixon and Bryan Sholomicki will split duties as assistants.
Head coach Ken Babey made the roster selections Saturday after a five-day selection camp held at the Markin MacPhail Centre.
Among the youth movement are two players born in 2000 – forwards James Dunn and Zach Savage – as well as several other young players, including Rob Armstrong, Tyrone Henry, and Kevin Sorley on defence, and forwards Dominic Cozzolino, Ben Delaney, and Tyler McGregor.
The speed and skill of the youngsters will be balanced with high-skilled experience from returning veterans such as Paralympic gold-medallists and world champions Bowden, Bridges, and Westlake to set Canada's National Sledge Team on a path to compete against the best countries in the world.
"In the end, all of them will take away some level of growth and development from the experience," Babey said.
"And for the 19 who were selected to represent Canada as part of the National Sledge Team, I want them to take a few days to enjoy this hard-won accomplishment before we resume our preparation for this season's events."
The team will hold a preparation camp next month in Bridgewater, N.S., ahead of the Dec. 4-10 World Sledge Hockey Challenge in Charlottetown.
With files from CBC Sports