CALGARY, Alta. –
The first pieces are in place for Hockey Canada as
Canada’s National Men’s Team
looks to three-peat at the 2017 IIHF World Championship in Paris, France,
and Cologne, Germany.
Ron Hextall (Brandon, Man./Philadelphia, NHL)
returns to the management staff, this time as general manager of Canada’s
National Men’s Team. Hextall was a member of the management group at the
2014 IIHF World Championship, and competed as a player at the 1992 IIHF
World Championship.
Sean Burke (Windsor, Ont./Montreal, NHL)
was named assistant general manager, while Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), Hockey Canada’s
vice-president of hockey operations and national teams, and Larry Carrière (Montreal/Montreal, NHL), director of
player personnel, round out the management group.
“These four gentlemen bring a tremendous amount of experience in hockey
management and in international competition as we look to assemble the best
possible team to represent Canada at the 2017 IIHF World Championship,” said Tom
Renney, president and chief executive officer, Hockey Canada. “With the NHL
regular season winding down, some very quick and smart decisions need to be
made in regards to coaching staff and player selections; Ron, Sean, Scott,
and Larry are prepared for the work ahead, and their collective knowledge
and experience will be invaluable as Team Canada quickly assembles in
preparation for its opening game on May 5.”
Hextall
was named executive vice-president and general manager of the Philadelphia
Flyers prior to the start of the 2014-15 NHL season, having rejoined the
organization in 2013 as assistant general manager and director of hockey
operations. Prior to that, Hextall logged seven seasons as the
vice-president and assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings,
where he helped the team capture the Stanley Cup in 2012. A goaltender
during his playing career, he appeared in 608 games, amassing 296 wins, and
helped the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Final as a rookie in 1987, and in
1997.
Burke
is wrapping up his first season with the Montreal Canadiens as a
professional scout. His international experience in management with
Canada’s National Men’s Team includes serving as general manager of the
2016 Spengler Cup championship-winning team, and two IIHF World
Championship gold medals, as director of player development in 2016, and as
part of the management group in 2015. He was also general manager of Team Canada at the
2016 Deutschland Cup. Burke is Canada’s all-time goaltending leader in
games played (35), minutes played (1,991), and wins (21) at the IIHF World
Championship – an event at which he won two gold and two silver medals in
five appearances as a player. A two-time Olympian (1988, 1992), Burke won
silver at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France, and is an
IIHF World Junior Championship silver-medallist from 1986 in Hamilton, Ont.
Carrière
joined the Montreal Canadiens as assistant general manager in 2010.
Following a playing career which included full and partial seasons in the
NHL in the 1970s with the Buffalo Sabres, Atlanta Flames, Vancouver
Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs, Carrière went into
scouting with the Sabres in 1983, and was elevated to director of player
development by the organization 10 years later, before being promoted once
again to assistant general manager in 1995. In 2005 he took a role as pro
scout for the Washington Capitals before joining Montreal.
Salmond
has been with Hockey Canada since 2001, serving in his current position of
vice-president of hockey operations and national teams since June 2014. In
this position, Salmond oversees all operations of Canada’s national men’s
teams for the Olympic Winter Games, IIHF World Championship, IIHF World
Junior Championship, and IIHF U18 World Championship, as well as the sledge
hockey program at the Paralympic Winter Games and IPC World Para Hockey
Championship.
Canada opens the 2017 IIHF World Championship in Paris, France, and
Cologne, Germany, against the Czech Republic on Friday, May 5, with
preliminary-round games scheduled through Tuesday, May 16. The bronze- and
gold-medal games will take place on Sunday, May 21.
TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will carry 64 and
32 games respectively; schedules and network information can be found at
TSN.ca
and RDS.ca.
Team Canada was undefeated at the 2015 IIHF World Championship in Prague
and Ostrava, Czech Republic, and defended its gold medal at the 2016 IIHF
World Championship in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Since 1931, Canada was won the world championship 20 times – not counting
the years when Olympic Winter Games gold medallist was also considered world
champion. The country has also collected 11 silver medals and six bronze in
that timespan.
For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit
HockeyCanada.ca
or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.