A Castlegar man is playing for Team Canada at the World Inline Hockey Masters Cup in Italy.
Dr. David Bzdel is in Bolzano, Italy for the seventh Masters World Cup, put on by the Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports(FIRS). The event features players born in 1978 or before competing against inline hockey players from across the globe.
Bzdel first started playing inline hockey while he was studying to be a chiropractor in Australia.
“I played professional inline in Australia back in like the 2000s,” he said.
It was through contacts he made there that he was asked to be on Team Canada.
“A guy who was on the team remembered me from down there and gave me a call,” said Bzdel.
Opening ceremonies for the Masters Cup were held Wednesday night, after the teams spent the day practicing.
Hopefully the practice time gave Bzdel a chance to warm up, since he hasn’t had much chance to play inline hockey recently.
“I haven’t played in Canada for a few years just because there’s no real place to play,” he said, “but I play ice hockey. I’ve beenplaying with the Castlegar Men’s Hockey League for the past five years.”
Bzdel got the call to play for Team Canada six weeks ago and tried to get some training in before he left as well.
“It’s feeling good. It comes back pretty quickly,” he said.
Team Canada plays their first game against Switzerland on Thursday, with another game against Slovakia in the evening.Friday they compete against Italy II, and Saturday begins the qualifiers.