The London Annihilators and Team Québec are back at the Vancouver Invitational with star-studded squads in Division 1.
London Annihilators
Representing Ontario comes with serious expectations. The London Annihilators have won six of the past seven Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championships and are bringing a loaded team to Richmond, including four national team members (or five, if we include head coach and longtime veteran David Willsie).
All eight of the team’s players were part of the 2017-2018 National Team Program and their depth and balance should allow them to play with different combinations and line-ups. This will come to some advantage, as they’re expected to play two games on the opening day.
Richmond native and former Team BC player Travis Murao moved to Toronto in 2016 and will surely be looking forward to playing in front of family, friends, and former teammates.
Look for longtime veteran Mike Whitehead to dish out some heavy hits to the opposition. He’s a big guy who is often the source of both turnovers and flipped chairs.
Team Québec
Led by Paralympians Patrice Simard and Fabien Lavoie (who trains out of the Richmond Oval), Quebec has a balanced team that will often have speed at all four positions on the court. Lavoie is one of the fastest players in the country and, as Québec’s only high pointer, will be relied upon to produce plenty of goals.
Anthony Létourneau should take some of the pressure off of Lavoie. He’s a fast-rising prospect who made his national team debut at the 2017 IWRF Americas Championships.On the other side of the ball, Patrice Simard and Yanick Racicot are both great defenders capable of locking down the opposition.
After winning bronze at last year’s national championships, Quebec will be looking to challenge Ontario and make a statement ahead of the 2018 Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championships at Mount Royal University.
With less than two weeks to go, we’re proud to announce the support of our awesome friends at Postmark Brewing. Look forward to seeing you soon!
