The men's team surprised by making it through to the National Hockey League final this year and yesterday four players from that side were named in the junior Black Sticks squad which will contest the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia in mid-November.
No surprise Kane Russell was selected. The drag flick specialist is highly rated and was a key member of the Southern Men squad this season.
He was part of the Junior Black Sticks squad which contested the inaugural Sultan of Johor Cup last year and appears to be heading straight to the top of the sport.
He will be joined by Southern Men team-mates in striker Jeremy Morris, midfielder Nick Elder and fullback James Bennett.
Morris had a strong under-21 campaign and backed up with some good performances in the NHL. He is quick, elusive and a player with much promise.
Elder has come through all the provincial age-group teams and was unlucky to miss out on making the Junior Black Sticks last year. He impressed during the NHL and basically played his way into the squad.
Bennett is from Christchurch and has moved to Dunedin to attend university. His father played club hockey for Albany and, like Elder, has been on the radar for a while.
Southern Men coach Dave Ross, who also doubles as the Junior Black Sticks assistant coach, said the squad had been picked with a view to the future.
"The Junior World Cup is in India next year so they have another year of training to get bigger, faster, stronger," Ross said.
"We deliberately picked a squad that is a year young, if you like, so it will be a bit of a challenge in Malaysia. It is going to be a big learning curve for us.
"The group we had last year was probably more experienced because they were at the top of their age-group."
The 18-strong line-up was finalised following the selection camp in Auckland last weekend.
"This was a difficult team to select as everyone put in a sound performance at the selection camp, which was pleasing," coach Grant Edwards said.
"It's important to note also, that these athletes selected are all available and eligible for the 2013 Junior World Cup."
The team will assemble for a training camp in mid-October and depart for the Sultan of Johor Cup from Auckland on November 8. Its opening match of the tournament is against Pakistan on November 11.
