Calgary — When Keifer Jones started playing hockey at 17, he never imagined that one day he would go on to represent his country in an international series.
But next month, the 29-year-old Calgary man will don a Team Canada jersey to face off against the United States in a blind ice hockey three-game series.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime sort of opportunity," Jones said. "This is the first time this series will be held in Canada, so to be playing the U.S. in Ottawa is going to be pretty special."
Jones started losing his vision about a decade ago, when he caught a virus while on a family vacation in Mexico.
Sports had always played a part in Jones’s life and he learned to adapt to his new life. On top of representing Canada in blind hockey, Jones is also a world blind-golf champion.
He made Team Canada through a selection camp in Toronto last month and he’s the only Calgarian to make the national blind hockey team.
"I’ve only been playing blind hockey for just over a decade and not necessarily at a competitive level," he said.
“To be the one player from an entire city to make the team is pretty cool.”
The series will be held on Nov. 8-10 in Ottawa.
This will be the second international competition for Team Canada, which made its debut last fall in another series played against the United States. Canada won both of those games.
The hope for Jones and others is for blind hockey to one day make it into the Paralympics.
For more information on blind hockey, visit the Blind Ice Hockey website.
