Hockey Canada Prepares for Men's Hockey at The 2006 Winter Olympic Games

NR.089.05
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June 15, 2005
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GRETZKY, LOWE AND TAMBELLINI WILL LEAD CANADA’S MEN’S OLYMPIC HOCKEY TEAM

EDMONTON – Hockey Canada President Bob Nicholson announced on Wednesday that Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Lowe and Steve Tambellini, the management team that led Canada to gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 and a World Cup of Hockey championship in 2004, will lead Canada’s Men’s hockey team in Turin, Italy for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games next February, regardless whether NHL players participate.

Option 1:

If the new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA states that NHL players are available for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, the staff that will lead Canada’s 2006 Men’s Olympic Hockey Team will be:

Executive Director- Wayne Gretzky

Assistant Executive Director - Kevin Lowe

Director, Player Personnel - Steve Tambellini

Head Coach; - Pat Quinn

Associate Coaches: - Wayne Fleming, Marc Habscheid, Ken Hitchcock, Jacques Martin

Quinn and his entire coaching staff would return to led Canada behind the bench if NHL players attend the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Italy.  This keeps the same coaching staff intact that won gold in Salt Lake City at the 2002 Olympic Games, and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey championship. In this scenario, Habscheid, Canada’s National Men’s team coach, will join Quinn and his staff as an associate coach.

Canada will invite 34 NHL players to attend an NHL Olympic orientation camp in Vancouver/Kelowna, BC in mid-August, similar to the orientation camp that took place in Calgary in 2001.  Hockey Canada is moving forward with plans to host this orientation camp in August, unless between now and the start of this camp in mid-August, the NHL/NHLPA announces that NHL players will not participate in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. The Team Canada Olympic orientation camp with NHL players, dates, details and player invites will be finalized and announced within the next three weeks.

Option 2:

If the 2006 Winter Olympic Games do not include NHL players, the management staff for Canada’s Men’s Hockey team will be Gretzky, Lowe and Tambellini, in an advisory role, and Marc Habscheid, Canada’s National Men’s Team Head Coach, will be the Head Coach of Team Canada.

Hockey Canada opens an Olympic orientation camp at Rexall Place in Edmonton today, and runs until June 18th, that brings 31 Canadian-born players that played hockey in Europe during the 2004-2005 season and were not under NHL contract last season. The goal of the camp is to orientate these players for the options and opportunities that lie ahead for the 2005-2006 season for Canada’s National Men’s Hockey Team. The opportunities include the events that Canada’s National team will participate in for the upcoming season (Deutschland Cup – November; Loto Cup – December; Spengler Cup – December; and tours during European breaks throughout the season, and the options regarding participation at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy in February.  The roster is available at www.hockeycanada.ca

Habscheid was Head Coach of Canada’s 2005 World Championship team that won a silver medal in May in Vienna, Austria. Habscheid lead Canada to a 10-5-1 record in 2004-2005, his first season as Head Coach of Canada’s National Men’s team, who were the only country this season to not use NHL players. 

Blair Mackasey, who joined Hockey Canada as Head Scout in June, 2002 (now the Director, Player Personnel of the Program of Excellence) and is responsible for all player evaluation and player selections for Canada’s National Junior Team and Under-18 Teams (Spring and Summer), will work with Habscheid, the coaching staffs, and the management staff to assist in both options with scouting and evaluation of Canadian players eligible to represent Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

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