MINSK, Belarus – Dave Tippett, head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Team, announced Thursday, in collaboration with Hockey Canada and general manager Rob Blake, that Kevin Bieksa (Grimsby, Ont./Vancouver, NHL) will serve as Canada’s captain at the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, which will be held May 9-25 in Minsk.

Tippett also announced that Jason Chimera (Edmonton, Alta./Washington, NHL) and Kyle Turris (New Westminster, B.C./Ottawa, NHL) will serve as alternate captains.

Bieksa, 32, just completed his eighth season with the Canucks, and will make his first appearance in international competition. A native of Grimsby, Ont., Bieksa has appeared in 537 NHL games with Vancouver, and ranks as the sixth-highest scoring defenceman in franchise history, with 179 points.

Chimera, 35, will be representing Canada at the world championship for the third time, having won gold in 2007 and silver in 2008. A veteran of 13 NHL seasons with Edmonton, Columbus and Washington, the native of Edmonton, Alta., also played at the 1999 IIHF World Junior Championship in Winnipeg, Man., winning a silver medal.

Turris, 24, won gold with Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship. A veteran of six NHL seasons with Phoenix and Ottawa, the native of New Westminster, B.C., ranked third in scoring with the Senators this season, setting career highs in goals (26), assists (32) and points (58), while leading the team with a +22 plus-minus rating.

In addition, Canada has added defenceman Braydon Coburn (Shaunavon, Sask./Philadelphia, NHL) to its roster, which now includes 23 players: three goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards.

Defenceman Marc Methot (Ottawa, Ont./Ottawa, NHL), originally named to the roster, will not be able to participate due to injury. 

With the addition of Coburn, Canada’s roster now includes 18 players with previous international experience, with six players (Burrows, Chimera, Coburn, Myers, Read, Reimer) who have represented Canada at previous world championships (Turris skated as an alternate player with Canada in 2008).

Bieksa, Troy Brouwer, Jason Garrison, Ben Scrivens and Joel Ward will be representing Canada on the international stage for the first time. 

Canada can officially register a maximum of 25 players with the IIHF for the world championship, including three goaltenders. The initial official registration is today, May 8, but additional players can be registered during the tournament as well. 

Canada opens the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on May 9 against France. TSN and RDS, the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada, will be broadcasting all of Canada’s games from Belarus. Check your local listings for times in your broadcast area.

For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Team and the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, 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.