Hockey Canada has named its coaching staff for one of international hockey’s biggest tournaments.
On Thursday, the governing body announced that NHL Utah head coach André Tourigny will be the head coach for the Canadian National Team at the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championship.
He will be joined by former Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason and former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft, along with St. Louis Blues assistant coach Steve Ott.
Former NHLer Rick Nash, who was appointed Canada’s general manager for the tournament, said it was an easy decision to bring back Tourigny.
“André has been a staple behind the Team Canada bench in recent years, and we are excited he will once again lead our team alongside Dean, Jay and Steve. All four coaches bring extensive experience and leadership as we look to defend gold in Czechia,” Nash said in a release. “This staff combines many years of experience at the professional and international level, and we know its leadership will be a valuable asset as we assemble a roster that represents Canada with pride next month.”
Tourigny has been on the bench with Team Canada at the last three world championships. He was the head coach for the team that won gold in Tampere, Finland, and was an assistant for the gold-medal-winning team in 2021. Tourigny has coached Canada to gold medals at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2018, as well as the World Juniors in 2020.
This will be Evason’s first tour of coaching duty in international hockey. The Flin Flon, Manitoba native played for Team Canada during the 1996-97 season, winning gold at that year’s IIHF World Championship, where he served as team captain.
Woodcroft, who has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Oilers, was an assistant coach with Canada at the 2015 IIHF World Championship and was an assistant coach for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Ott is coaching on the international stage for the first time. The longtime NHLer represented Canada at two IIHF World Junior Championships and the 2010 IIHF World Championship.
Canada will open its title defense against Great Britain on May 11.
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