CALGARY, AB – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced on Friday the coaching staff for Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team, which will compete in the 2008 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka in Czech Republic and Slovakia from August 12-16.

Bill Peters, head coach of the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, will be Canada’s head coach. Peters, a native of Three Hills, AB, led the Chiefs to the 2008 Memorial Cup title, as Spokane defeated the host Kitchener Rangers 4-1 in the final in May 2008.

Canada’s assistant coaches will be Steve Spott, head coach with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, and André Tourigny, general manager/ head coach of the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Nouranda Huskies.

Steve Spott completed his seventh season as assistant general manager and associate coach with Kitchener in 2007-08, winning the 2008 OHL Championship and finished second at the Memorial Cup.

André Tourigny recently completed his seventh season as general manager and head coach of the Huskies. Tourigny coached Team Quebec to a fifth-place finish at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, YT, an event that brought together the top under-17 aged players in Canada.

Peters, Spott and Tourigny will work with Hockey Canada’s head scout of men’s national teams, Al Murray, to finalize a roster for the National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp.

The camp will be held August 2-6 at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary, AB. Team Canada will be finalized following the camp and players and staff will travel to Piestany, Slovakia on August 6 in preparation of the 2008 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka.

Canada has won the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka, formerly called the Junior World Cup, three of the last four years.

The National Men’s Under-18 Program is the second step of Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. It starts with regional and provincial Under-17 teams that take part in either the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge or Canada Winter Games, and concludes with Canada’s National Junior Team.