RIGA, LATVIA – Head Coach Marc Habscheid (Swift Current, SK/Hockey Canada), along with assistant coaches Claude Julien (Blind River, ON/Hockey Canada) and Trent Yawney (Hudson Bay, SK/ Chicago Blackhawks) and Team Canada General Manager Ken Holland (Vernon, BC/Detroit Red Wings) and Assistant General Manager Mike Barnett (Olds, AB/ Phoenix Coyotes) announced on Saturday that veteran forward Brendan Shanahan has been named captain of Team Canada for the 2006 IIHF World Championship in Riga, Latvia from May 5-21, 2006.

The coaching and management staff also announced four alternate captains who will rotate through the Championship. One pairing of alternate captains are Stephane Robidas (Sherbrooke, QC/ Dallas Stars) and Michael Richards (Kenora, ON/ Philadelphia Flyers), while another pairing will be made up of Kyle Calder (Mannville, AB/Chicago Blackhawks) and Sidney Crosby (Cole Harbour, NS/ Pittsburgh Penguins).

“We are very pleased to have Brendan as captain this year,” said Head Coach Marc Habscheid. “He has a great deal of international experience and has won three Stanley Cups.”

Shanahan’s experience on the international stage dates back to 1987, when he represented Canada at the World Junior Championship. The native of Mimico, ON went on to win gold with Canada at the 1991 Canada Cup, the 1994 World Championship and the Olympic Winter Games. Over the course of his hockey career, Shanahan has played in 42 games with Team Canada, scoring 20 goals.

Shanahan also won three Stanley Cups as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. A veteran of 18 NHL seasons, Shanahan has amassed 1232 points, including 598 goals in 1350 career NHL games.

Hockey Canada also announced that goaltender Chris Mason (Red Deer, AB/ Nashville Predators) had been added to the roster and will join the team in Latvia on Sunday, May 7th.

Canada’s World Championship Team won its opening game at the 2006 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Riga, Latvia on May 5th versus Denmark by a score of 5 -3. All of Canada’s games will be broadcast live from Latvia on TSN/RDS, the official broadcaster of Hockey Canada. Canada will play in the preliminary round in a group that includes Denmark, Norway and the USA.

For further information on Canada’s 2006 Men’s World Championship team, and the IIHF Men’s World Championship, go to Hockey Canada’s official website at www.hockeycanada.ca