CALGARY, AB - Lanny McDonald, General Manager of Canada's 2002 Men's World Championship Team, announced the team's coaching staff on Thursday.

McDonald, along with Team Canada's Assistant General Manager Doug Armstrong, of the Dallas Stars, had announced on October 30th, 2001 that Wayne Fleming would be returning for a second straight year as the World Championship team's head coach.

Fleming, the CHA's Vice-president, Hockey, was an associate coach with Canada's gold medal winning Men's Team at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The native of Snow Lake, MB also coached Canada's National Men's Team this past season at the Sweden Games.

At the 2002 IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship, Fleming will be joined behind the bench by assistant coaches Ken Hitchcock and Barry Trotz. The World Championship will run from April 27th through May 11th 2002 in Sweden.

Hitchcock, 50, was an associate coach with Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics. The native of Edmonton, AB won a Stanley Cup in 1999 as the head coach of the Dallas Stars. Hitchcock was also nominated three times for the NHL's Jack Adams Award, as the league's top coach.

Trotz, 40, has been the head coach of the NHL's Nashville Predators since the team's very beginnings in 1998. Prior to joining the Predators, the native of Winnipeg, MB, spent five seasons as the head coach of the Washington Capitals' farm team in Portland, Maine.

"The coaching staff that we have assembled is first rate," said McDonald. "Led by our head coach Wayne Fleming, Barry and Ken will compliment him well as we look to get Canada back on the podium at the Worlds."

"I'm really excited about leading Canada into this year's World Championship," said Fleming. "Now that our coaching staff is in place, we are looking forward to naming players to our roster and continuing to prepare for this year's Worlds."

McDonald, Armstrong and the coaching staff will continue to evaluate players and monitor the NHL playoff situation, in preparation of naming players over the next month.

Canada opens the 2002 IIHF World Hockey Championship on April 27th against Latvia. All of Canada's games will be carried live on TSN and RDS.