PIESTANY, Slovakia – Head coach Todd Gill announced Sunday that forward Sam Reinhart (West Vancouver, BC/Kootenay, WHL) will serve as captain of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2012 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, which begins Monday in Piestany, Slovakia and Breclav, Czech Republic.

In addition, Gill also announced that two players will serve as alternate captains during the tournament: forward Bo Horvat (Rodney, Ont./London, OHL) and defenseman Darnell Nurse (Hamilton, Ont./Sault Ste. Marie, OHL).

Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team will begin its quest for a fifth consecutive gold medal on Monday, Aug. 13 (8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT) when it faces Switzerland in the opening Group B game in Piestany. It will be the first of three games in three days for Canada, which faces Sweden on Tuesday and Slovakia on Wednesday during the preliminary round.

The top two teams from Group A and Group B will cross over for the semifinals on Friday, Aug. 17 before the gold and bronze medal games on Saturday, Aug. 18.

Canada played one pre-tournament game, dropping a 6-4 decision to the Czech Republic on Saturday in Breclav. The Canadians trailed 5-0 after two periods and 6-1 early in the third before mounting an unsuccessful comeback. Max Domi (Toronto, Ont./London, OHL) scored twice and added one assist and Reinhart had a goal and two helpers, while Jérémy Grégoire (Sherbrooke, Que./Chicoutimi, QMJHL) scored the other Canadian goal.

There will be no TV or radio coverage of the 2012 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, but fans can follow all of the action with live updates at www.hockeycanada.ca. Hockey Canada’s official website is also the place to find game summaries, stories and other features.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Francis Dupont, Hockey Canada’s manager of media relations, will be with the team in Europe for the tournament. He will be handling all interview requests and can be reached at +447540704016 or [email protected].

For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team and Hockey Canada, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_teamcanada.