He remains steadfast in the heart of the Canadian defence. 35-year-old captain of the Canada squad to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Scott Tupper brings a wealth of experience to the fore as the North Americans often punch above their weight in the cauldron of international hockey.

Tupper, who made his international debut way back in 2005, took to field hockey as an eight-year-old in his native Vancouver. Known as the Iron Man of Vancouver field hockey, he played a stellar role for his club Vancouver Hawks FHC.

Tupper, who has appeared for Canada in 315 international matches, has a deadly drag flick at penalty corners and also executes accurate 50-yard aerial passes to his forwards.

His prowess has earned him contracts with clubs in Europe notably HC Schaerweijde (The Netherlands), Der Club an der Alster (Germany) and Racing Bruxelles (Belgium).

He was a member of the Red Caribou team that dramatically beat Argentina in the 2007 Pan Am Games final in Rio de Janeiro to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Apart from that gold, Tupper’s showcase has silver galore from the 2015 and 2019 editions of the Pan Am Games and the 2013 and 2017 Pan Am Cups – all from lost finals to Argentina.

Tupper’s Canada, however, are not a team to be taken lightly as action gets going in Tokyo and a quarterfinal place for the Red Caribou does not exactly belong to the realms of fiction.