CALGARY – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced Wednesday that Dave Barr (Guelph, OHL) has been named head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team for the Under-18 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka (formerly the Junior World Cup) from August 14-18, 2007 in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

A native of Toronto, ON, Barr has been head coach of the OHL’s Guelph Storm for the past three seasons and general manager for four, leading the team to an OHL championship in 2003-04. He was named the OHL’s Coach of the Year in 2005-06 after guiding the Storm to a 27-point improvement over the previous season. The 13-year NHL veteran also has a Calder Cup on his resume, as general manager of the AHL’s Houston Aeros in 2002-03.

In addition, Hockey Canada and the CHL announced that Guy Boucher (Drummondville, QMJHL) and Jacques Beaulieu (Saint John, QMJHL) will join Barr behind the Canadian bench as assistant coaches.

Boucher, who was an assistant coach with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team in 2006, just completed his first season as head coach of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs. He has also spent time as an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic (2002-06) and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (1997-00).

Beaulieu just finished his first year as head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL, and spent six seasons (2000-06) as an assistant coach with the OHL’s London Knights, winning a Memorial Cup with the Knights in 2005.

“I am very excited to have a chance to work with Guy and Jacques, and to have the opportunity to coach some of the best young players in the world,” Barr says. “We are looking forward to representing Canada well in August.”

“The National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team is an important step in the Program of Excellence, and we are very excited that Dave, Guy and Jacques will lead our country in the Czech Republic in August,” said Bob Nicholson, president of Hockey Canada.

All three coaches will have the opportunity to evaluate Canada’s top under-18 players (born in 1990 or later) this summer at Hockey Canada’s 2007 National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team Summer Selection Camp. Players will be selected by Hockey Canada’s Head Scout Jim Hammett and will be announced in June. Canada’s Under-18 Junior World Cup roster will be selected at the conclusion of the camp, which will run from August 4-9 in Calgary, AB at the Father David Bauer Arena. A detailed camp schedule will be released in June.

This coaching staff will lead Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2007 Under-18 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka (formerly the Junior World Cup) from August 14-18, 2007 in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The 2007 Under-18 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka will bring together national under-18 teams from Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. Canada will play in Pool A, joined by the Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland.

Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team will be comprised of the best Canadian players born in 1990 or later, many of which will be top prospects for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. In 2006, Canada’s roster included such 2007 draft prospects as Kyle Turris, Angelo Esposito, Colton Gillies and Brandon Sutter.

Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Program consists of two teams, a National Summer Under-18 Team, which is selected following an August selection camp and takes part in an annual Under-18 international event (Memorial of Ivan Hlinka) each August, and a National Under-18 Team, which takes part in the IIHF World Under-18 Championship annually in April. Canada’s Under-18 coaching staff named on Wednesday will lead the Summer Under-18 program in August 2007. The coaching staff for the National Under-18 Team will be named in the spring of 2008.