Black Sticks Men push forward with new squad

The Black Sticks Men have retained plenty of experience along with some exciting young prospects in the 2017 National Squad.

The 23 strong squad is led by four players who have amassed more than 200 tests caps in Simon Child (274), Shea McAleese (243), Nick Haig (200) and Arun Panchia (205) with plenty of experience alongside them.

Canterbury defender David Brydon and Auckland striker Kim Kingstone are new faces having been named to the National Squad for the first time.

Twelve players in the new group competed for the Black Sticks at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games while the remaining two spots will be filled in the coming months bringing the squad up to 25 athletes.

Hockey New Zealand High Performance Director Terry Evans said it was great to carry through the core of last years Olympic squad.

"Weve named a strong squad and are confident they can continue to progress as a group and achieve great things," he said.

"Its great to have the commitment of the senior guys and will be exciting to watch several of the young players evolve with more time in the black shirt."

Following the departure of Colin Batch, recruitment for a new head coach is currently in progress with an appointment hoped to be named as soon as possible.

2017 BLACK STICKS MENS NATIONAL SQUAD

SHIRT # / PLAYER NAME / REGION / POSITION / AGE / CAPS

2 / Cory BENNETT / North Harbour / Defender / 25 / 44

3 / David BRYDON / Canterbury / Defender / 20 / 6

13 / Marcus CHILD / Auckland / Midfielder / 25 / 94

6 / Simon CHILD / Auckland / Striker / 28 / 274

1 / James COUGHLAN / North Harbour / Midfielder / 26 / 76

15 / George ENERSEN / Canterbury / Goalkeeper / 25 / 19

4 / Nick HAIG / Canterbury / Defender / 29 / 200

9 / Blair HILTON / Capital / Midfielder / 27 / 167

29 / Hugo INGLIS / Southern / Striker / 25 / 186

27 / Stephen JENNESS / Capital / Striker / 26 / 171

8 / Richard JOYCE / North Harbour / Goalkeeper / 24 / 11

10 / Kim KINGSTONE / Auckland / Striker / 22 / 7

20 / Devon MANCHESTER / Auckland / Goalkeeper / 27 / 94

25 / Shea McALEESE / Central / Defender / 32 / 243

30 / George MUIR / North Harbour / Midfielder / 22 / 57

24 / Arun PANCHIA / Auckland / Defender / 27 / 205

14 / Jared PANCHIA / Auckland / Striker / 23 / 55

31 / Hayden PHILLIPS / Central / Midfielder / 18 / 23

7 / Nick ROSS / Southern / Midfielder / 26 / 41

21 / Kane RUSSELL / Southern / Defender / 24 / 91

11 / Jacob SMITH / Capital / Striker / 25 / 62

22 / Blair TARRANT / Southern / Defender / 26 / 162

17 / Nic WOODS / Midlands / Defender / 21 / 60

2017 BLACK STICKS MENS DEVELOPMENT SQUAD

PLAYER NAME / REGION / POSITION

Rob CREFFIER / Central / Midfielder

Nick ELDER / North Harbour / Midfielder

Cam HAYDE / Canterbury / Striker

Jonty KEANEY / Auckland / Striker

Sam LANE / Canterbury / Striker

Harry MISKIMMIN / Capital / Defender

Leo MITAI-WELLS / Midlands / Striker

Dominic NEWMAN / Canterbury / Midfielder

Brad READ / Capital / Defender

Aidan SARIKAYA / Midlands / Midfielder

Mac WILCOX / Central / Striker





- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Hockey NZ