CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada announced Wednesday that national and provincial coaches from across Canada will attend the Program of Excellence coaching seminar at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary from June 12-14. Hockey Canada has presented this seminar since 1998 to help coaches understand the many aspects it takes to have success at international hockey competitions.

The seminar will feature coaches from member branches across Canada that will attend workshops over three days focusing on the four pillars of preparation: mental performance, physical performance, technical preparation and the environment for success.

The participants will also include the coaching staffs of Canada’s National Junior Team, Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team and Canada’s national under-17 teams, as well as coaching staffs from provinces and territories that will compete at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, B.C.

“The purpose of these workshops is to share information between some of hockey’s best coaches,” says Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada’s senior director of hockey operations. “It’s a great development opportunity for coaches from across the country to learn about short-term competition in international hockey.”

The presenters at the seminar include coaches and support staff from Canada’s Olympic and world championship teams: Olympic coaches Ken Hitchcock and Lindy Ruff, Team Canada alumni Fred Brathwaite, Sean Burke and Gord Murphy, Hockey Canada’s vice-president of national teams and hockey operations Brad Pascall, video manager Andrew Brewer, head scout Ryan Jankowski and senior manager of hockey development Corey McNabb, WinSport vice-president of sport Dr. Steve Norris, Team Canada therapist Kent Kobelka and mental performance consultants Matt Brown and Derek Robinson, as well as strength and conditioning coaches Jeff Osadec and Chris Osmond. Derek White is an additional featured speaker, who will address generational dynamics in a team environment.

For more information on Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, 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_men.