HAMILTON, Ontario —  Nobody was happier than Regy Thorpe to see Tom Schreiber excel with the Toronto Rock in his rookie season in the National Lacrosse League.

It puts a smile on Thorpe’s face to know there is a fresh wave of talent coming to stock the U.S. team he will coach at the Federation of International Lacrosse World Indoor Championship, which will take place in British Columbia in 2019. An important lead-up will be a Canada-U.S. exhibition game in Hamilton Oct. 21. Thorpe attended a news conference Wednesday at the venue, First Ontario Centre, to announce the event.

Canada has won all four world indoor championships — 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 — with a 23-0 record. The Iroquois Nationals were second and the U.S. third every time.

“Team Canada sets the standard,” Thorpe said. “Everyone is chasing them, but we’re excited to see more Americans playing in the NLL and getting the experience we’ll need to be competitive.”

Schreiber, Rock teammate Kieran McArdle, Joey Resetarits of the Rochester Knighthawks and Blaze Riorden of the Buffalo Bandits are a big part of the fresh wave of U.S. talent in the NLL.

“To see the type of year Tommy had was exciting,” Thorpe said. “Tommy is committed to our team. We’ve also got some guys playing in the MLL, some big strong defenders, who we’ve kind of earmarked to work with for the next 2 1/2 years before the next world indoor tournament to ensure they’ve got some good box experience. US Lacrosse has really got behind growing the indoor game.”

Thorpe would never accept a suggestion that Canada’s indoor men’s team is unbeatable. The former pro indoor defenseman knows firsthand that is untrue. In 2002, he played for the U.S. team that won the Heritage Cup with a 21-16 victory over Canada in Mississuaga, Ontario.

“We were up against a Canadian team that was pretty well an all-star team,” he said. “We had a pretty good group, a lot of American guys who could play both offense and defense. We got off to a great start. That really gave us a lot of momentum and carried us. We put Team Canada on its heels and got some good goaltending from Erik Miller. It was a special night.”

Canada regained the Heritage Cup with a 17-8 win over the U.S. in Denver in 2004. After a seven-year hiatus, the trophy was up for grabs again in 2013, and Canada defeated the Iroquois Nationals 12-11 in Montreal.

“The game in October will be a kick-start of an annual Heritage Cup game,” Team Canada director Johnny Mouradian said.

To win it, Thorpe has a strategic plan.

“We feel we need to build the defense up with big, strong American guys,” he said. “You’ve got to keep Canada and the Iroquois out of the middle because they are such scoring threats. We’re going to focus on the D and the goalies.”

Defensemen Mitch Belisle, John Ranagan and Joel White of the Georgia Swarm are expected to be at the heart of the back end.

“From the front door, we want guys who are going to get to the middle and not be the typical American perimeter shooters,” Thorpe said.

Riorden wants to be part of it.

“First off, we’ve just got to focus on ourselves,” he replied when asked about the prospects of beating Canada. “Box lacrosse is a totally different game than the outdoor game. With the athleticism some of our players have, and with the right coaching, I think we can work towards giving it a good shot.”

Dan Dawson, Canada’s captain who plays in the NLL for Rochester, said the October event will be a great opportunity to grow the indoor game, and he rejects any tendency to downplay the strength of U.S. talent.

“I’ve seen a lot of great American players in the NLL,” he said. “Jay Jalbert, Josh Sims, Regy Thorpe, Casey Powell, Ryan Powell, Drew Westervelt, Brendan Mundorf and the list goes on and on. For us to grow the game, we need American players in the NLL. The Heritage Cup game will be a great opportunity for some of their college kids to maybe play their first indoor game. Every American you talk to falls in love with the indoor game. There’s no American that has played this indoor game who doesn’t love it. We need them playing the game.”

Added Team Canada head coach Ed Comeau: “We’re hoping the recent so-called American invasion in the NLL spurs more to play, especially with potential NLL expansion on the horizon.”

Comeau offered a suggestion on what lacrosse fans can expect in the renewal of the Heritage Cup competition between continental rivals in a sport known for its physical contact.

“International events in soccer are usually called friendlies,” he said. “In lacrosse, we say it’s not a friendly.”