Player of the Week: Gord Perrin

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, October 5, 2020 – Canada's recent rise on the international volleyball scene, which culminated in the team returning to the Olympics after 24 years at the Rio 2016 Games, unsurprisingly matches the consolidation of John Gordon "Gord" Perrin as one of the top players of his generation. 

The 31-year-old outside hitter, who was named team captain following the historical tournament in Brazil, has stepped up to his leadership role with Team Canada masterfully, providing an outstanding contribution to the programme both on and off the court. 

The 2.01m-tall Perrin first wore the Canadian jersey back in 2009, when he was still a student-athlete at Thompson Rivers University. In over ten years with the team, he has been part of many of its most memorable achievements. 

The highlight for Perrin and Canada in the last decade was certainly their fifth-place finish at the Rio Olympics, where they upset eventual silver and bronze medallists Italy and USA in the pool stage. Perrin was Canada’s third best scorer in that campaign with 56 points. 

The following year, already taking on the role of team captain, he led his Canadian teammates to their first ever FIVB World League medal, a bronze in Curitiba, Brazil, after a 3-1 victory over continental rivals the United States in a match in which Perrin scored 13 points. 

“I’m very grateful for everybody that helped the team along the way, as there have been a lot of players that sacrificed a lot for this team,” Perrin said at the time. “Hopefully this will help them achieve a lot in the future. Every year we achieve something new - we were in Rio for the last Olympic Games, we were 5th at the World League four years ago. I’m excited to see how far we can go.”  

The next two years weren’t as eventful for the Canadians, but Perrin has certainly accomplished a lot with the team in 11 years, including three consecutive appearances at the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championships, a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan-American Games and a victory at the NORCECA Championship that same year.

Perrin’s club career in six different countries has also been successful. The outside hitter's first stop outside of Canada was in Turkey, where he spent four seasons with Arkas Spor and won two editions of the country’s league while also making a semifinal appearance in the CEV Champions League. 

In 2015, Perrin moved to Italian side Piacenza. And 12 months later he was already in Poland, where he finished fourth in the Plusliga with Asecco Resovia. In his only season in China with Beijing BAIC Motors, the Canadian helped the team finish second in the country’s league. 

Perrin spent the 2018-2019 season in Russia with Belogorie Belgorod and helped the team win the Challenger Cup. Perrin then crossed the Atlantic Ocean and had a short but prolific one-year stint with Sada Cruzeiro Volei, winning the South American Club Championship, the Brazilian Cup and the Mineiro Championship and taking silver at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship. 

Last May, the Canadian headed back to Russia to play for Ural Ufa. 

“I’m excited to be joining Ural,” Perrin said when the transfer was announced. “After spending one season in Russia I feel comfortable returning to compete in the league. It’s a top league and it will be an exciting and challenging season. The team sounds ambitious to achieve new goals and I look forward to being a part of that.”