Voyageurs captain Llorca heads home over break to play with the French national team

Laurentian Voyageurs men's hockey team standout, and captain, Vincent Llorca, is heading home this Christmas with a little something extra to look forward to. The 6'3 defenceman, from Le Mont-Dore, France, has been invited to play with the French national team for their two game exhibition series against Slovenia on December 19^th and 20^th in Bordeaux and Anglet, France.

This is the first time Llorca has been invited to play with the senior national team and he is looking forward to the opportunity.

"It's an honour to play for my country. I've played with the junior team and the U18 team, but being selected for the big team is pretty nice and something I've been waiting awhile for, so it's going to be a great experience. It's going to be another level of play and a new challenge which is very exciting."

As mentioned, Llorca is no stranger to wearing the French jersey, as he has seen time on the junior national team, who took home the gold medal in 2011-2012 at the Division 1B World Championships, as well as the U18 team in 2009-2010. He also competed with the U23 national team this past summer as they travelled to the Czech Republic for a six game stint.

Because of Llorca's success so far this year with the Voyageurs, French national team head coach Dave Henderson and his coaching staff decided they wanted to bring him in to play against Slovenia to see how he compares to the other players on the team and the other countries that compete in the World Championships.

Henderson commented, "we've known Vincent for quite a while. He has been with us twice (development program), but he is a player that we are following all the time with Laurentian University. He has a big shot and plays well defensively."

When asked about Llorca's future with the French national team, Henderson said, "he is guy that we are looking at as a future player with the French national team; a group that can compete in 'Group A' play against Canada, the U.S, Russia and the Czech Republic."

Llorca is hopeful that his exposure this winter will lead him to his ultimate goal of being invited to the national team selection camp this April.

Voyageurs head coach, Craig Duncanson, believes there are many reasons why his captain is deserving of the national team nod. "Aside from being an outstanding defenceman for us, Vinny is a leader that is paramount to building any team. He is a relentless worker during practice, games‎, and conditioning, always applying himself to improving his game. He has the character required to excel as a student athlete as is evident by him earning the honour of being an Academic All-Canadian in Engineering, on top of his overwhelming commitment to our team. In addition to his skill set, it is his character that should help him earn a chance to become a fixture on the national team for years to come."

Llorca is looking forward to his extra special trip home this winter. "My family and friends are going to make it to the games, so I'm looking forward to being able to play in front of them, it's been awhile since they've seen me play, so I'm really excited."

Among defencemen in the CIS this season, Llorca leads the way in goals, with seven, and is tied for second in points, with 18. He and his Voyageur teammates currently sit fourth in the OUA East standings and are looking for a successful second half that puts them in the hunt for home ice advantage through the playoffs.

Source: Laurentian Voyageurs