Saskatoon\u0027s Josh Anderson has found a niche in both the ice and ball\u002Dhockey worlds, with the latter netting him a world championship.
The former college ice hockey player, who once had a pro tryout with the ECHL’s Worcester Railers, has a second sports life as a competitive ball hockey player. Earlier this summer, he added a world-championship gold medal to his resume.
He scored five goals and added two assists in seven games, including Canada’s first marker in a 6-3 championship game win over the Czech Republic. “It’s a competitive sport to try, with a pretty high ceiling. Being able to play on Team Canada was amazing. That was attractive to me, being able to move up in ball hockey and play at a really high level.
“A lot transfers over, like the stick-handling and the shooting, but there’s a bit of a different flavour to ball hockey than there is to ice hockey,” he says. Earlier this year, Anderson was named the top forward in the freshly formed Saskatchewan Premier Ball Hockey League, and he’s gearing up for A nationals later this summer in Hamilton.