TURIN, ITALY – The management and staff of Canada’s Men’s Olympic Hockey Team named Canada’s alternate captains for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

Team Canada had already named Joe Sakic as its captain when it named its 23-man active roster at General Motors Place in Vancouver, BC on December 21st, 2005.

Pronger, a native of Dryden, Ontario, returns as an alternate captain with Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team, a position he also had at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers last summer, Pronger was the St. Louis Blues’ captain for five years (1997-2002). 

Blake, fromSimcoe, Ontario, is an alternate captain with the Colorado Avalanche.  He was Canada’s captain at the Men’s World Championship in 1999 and an alternate captain in 1997.

Gagné, from Ste-Foy, Québec, is an alternate captain with the Philadelphia Flyers.  This marks his first time as an alternate captain with Canada.

Iginla has been the Calgary Flames’ captain for the past two seasons.  This will mark the second time that Iginla has been an alternate captain with Canada, having played the same role at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

“The coaching staff is sure that these four players will provide the leadership needed along with captain Joe Sakic,” said Head Coach Pat Quinn. « All of these players have proven that they are capable of leading champion teams, whether it’s at the international or professional level.”

For each Canada game, only two alternate captains will wear a letter on their jersey.  Les four alternates named today will wear the alternate captain’s letter “A” in rotation during every game that Canada will play at the Olympic Winter Games in Turin.

Of the 20 skaters on Canada’s Men’s Olympic Hockey Team, five are currently captains (Foote, Niedermayer, Doan, Iginla, Sakic) and eight are alternate captains (Blake, McCabe, Redden, Regehr, Gagné, Lecavalier, Nash, Smyth) with the respective NHL teams.