Vancouver roots run deep as Canada takes on Ireland in field hockey Olympic qualifier

As a young boy, Fin Boothroyd would leave his West Vancouver home and make the five-minute walk to Rutledge Field, field hockey stick in hand. He spent hours on the turf learning the sport, trying to perfect his game.

Boothroyd remembers making his way to the venue for practice as an eight-year-old, unsure what his future in the sport looked like.

On Saturday afternoon, he will make that same journey to Rutledge Field as a member of Team Canada with a spot in the Olympics up for grabs.

"I could have never imagined this. I wanted to be an NHLer," Boothroyd said this week in Vancouver ahead of a two-game qualifier against Ireland for a spot in Tokyo next summer. "It's pretty special. To grow up playing on this turf and now getting the chance to help Canada qualify for the Olympics on it is pretty cool."

As if this moment wasn't surreal enough, the close connection to the venue runs deeper for Boothroyd. His grandfather, Lawrence Boothroyd, helped establish the West Van Field Hockey Club in 1972 — a place where Lawrence's daughters, including Fin's mother Gillian, would learn the sport.

Watch live as Canada's men's field hockey team takes on Ireland in the second and deciding match with an Olympic spot on the line in Vancouver on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.

"It's a cool story. His daughters had no place to play the sport, it was back in those days, so he wanted to get his daughters into sport," Boothroyd said. "This is all closer to home than just being close to home."

Boothroyd, 20, is one of 18 players on the Canadian roster preparing for battle this weekend against Ireland. The Red Cariboo, as they're referred to, face the Irish in the aggregate series with games on Saturday and Sunday.

The Canadians narrowly missed locking up an Olympic spot at the Pan Am Games in Peru this summer, losing to Argentina in the gold-medal match. So it's come down to this last shot.

"I've been part of the program since 2005 and these games on Canadian soil are the biggest in this program's history," team captain Scott Tupper said. "It's truly a win or go home situation. It's the biggest thing in Canada in my career."

Tupper has played more than 300 games for Canada and is hoping to help the team qualify for consecutive Olympics, something that's happened only once before when Canada qualified for the 1984 and 1988 Games. Should Canada qualify it will be the nation's eighth appearance at the Olympics.

Tupper is trying to instill a confidence and composure in the squad heading into these two pivotal games. There are 10 returning players from the group who went to Rio so experience shouldn't be an issue, Tupper said.

"Ireland is strong and that's great. But if we come out and execute and play with an extremely gritty mentality, we'll be where we need to be," Tupper said.

The Canadians are ranked 10th in the world, Ireland 13th.

'Great atmosphere'

A capacity crowd of 2,000 is expected to pack into the intimate setting that is Rutledge Field. The surface was given a facelift in September with new turf installed. The Canadians have been training on it for weeks and are feeling confident in their home confines.

"It's going to be a great atmosphere. It's going to make for a fun environment," Tupper said. "It's what sport is about. This is high-stakes sport and I think why people love it."

Tupper said family and friends are finally going to get to watch a Canadian team play meaningful games at home and that it can only mean good things for growing the sport in Canada.

"For most of us who play field hockey for Canada it's a relatively small sport. We want to maintain the legacy of competing in the Olympics. It's the only way to give this sport exposure," he said.

As for Boothroyd, it's a dream scenario. His family will be in the stands — a place where they've gathered for more than four decades. Boothroyd said he'll be thinking of his late grandfather when he steps onto the turf. 

"Nervousness. Excitement. A mix of feelings. But I'll be focused on the task at hand," Boothroyd said.

Back where it all began with a chance to make his family proud.