Team Canada, with Red Deer natives Adam Ross and Chris Rauckman on the roster and Jason Stephens of Sylvan Lake as head coach, downed the host Finns 4-2 in the final of the IHF Inline Hockey World Championship Sunday in Tampere, Finland.
Ross, who drew an assist in the gold-medal game, was Canada’s second-leading scorer through six games with six goals and 13 points.
He was also the team’s top plus/minus player at plus-8 and was named the top defenceman of the tournament.
Ross patrolled the Old Grizzlys’ blueline for three seasons — from 2004 to 2007 — and attended NCAA Division 1 Merrimack College for four years on an athletic scholarship. The 28-year-old played two seasons of minor pro — in the ECHL and AHL — before spending the 2013-14 season with the Cardiff Devils of the British Elite League.
Rauckman contributed a goal and an assist for Canada at Tampere and was a plus-4. The 20-year-old closed out his junior hockey career last season with the Flin Flon Bombers of the SJHL, scoring 39 goals and recording 64 points in 56 games.
Rauckman will suit up with the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers this fall.
Harold and Joseph Stephens of Sylvan Lake were members of the Team Canada staff.