|
April 6, 2010
NR.041
CALGARY, Alta. – Mark Messier, Team Canada general manager for the 2010 IIHF World Championship, announced
on Tuesday that Peter DeBoer (Dunnville, Ont./Florida, NHL) and Billy Moores (Edmonton, Alta./ Edmonton, NHL)
will be joining head coach Craig MacTavish behind the bench on Canada’s coaching staff for the world
championship, which runs May 7-23 in Cologne and Mannheim, Germany.
Peter DeBoer has been the head coach of the NHL’s Florida Panthers for two seasons,
guiding the team to its second-best record in franchise history in 2008-09 (41-30-11). Prior to joining
Florida, DeBoer coached the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers for seven years, winning two OHL championships and one
Memorial Cup. DeBoer has coached with Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence on three occasions.
Billy Moores is currently a pro scout with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, after serving as an
assistant coach for nine seasons with the team, all with MacTavish. The native of Edmonton, Alta., previously
served as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers, after a successful 17-year run with the University of
Alberta Golden Bears, serving as an assistant coach for 10 years and head coach for seven. During his time in
the university ranks, Moores captured two national championships, five Canada West conference titles and was
twice named the CIAU coach of the year. He also served as an assistant coach and advisor with Japan at the
2000 IIHF World Championship in St. Petersburg, Russia.
“One of my priorities in putting together this coaching staff was to find individuals that shared a common
philosophy and will be able to instill that philosophy in the players as quickly as possible,” said Messier.
“In a short tournament, synergy will play an important role with our staff. All three are proven
winners, and I am very happy they have committed to the challenge.”
“I am really looking forward to working with Peter and Billy in Germany,” said MacTavish. “It has
been a great season so far for Canadian hockey and we look forward to the challenge of going for gold at the
World Championship.”
Messier and the management staff, comprised of Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada director of men’s national
teams, Doug Risebrough, Michel Goulet and Doug Messier, have been scouting NHL teams and monitoring the
playoff situation with the expectation of naming a first group of players by mid-April. Messier will
complete the roster once the first round of the NHL playoffs come to an end. Canada’s first game is on
May 8 vs. Italy, and an official roster does not have to be submitted to the IIHF until May 7.
“We are fortunate this year that there is almost a three-week break between the end of the NHL season and
the team getting together in Germany for the World Championship,” said Messier. “This will give the players
not involved in the playoffs a great opportunity to rest prior to representing Canada at the Worlds. This has
not always been the case in the past.”
|
