CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada announced Tuesday that former NHL player and coach Ryan Walter will serve as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2010 4 Nations Cup, which will be held in St. John’s and Clarenville, N.L. from November 9-13.

He will be joined on the bench by 1998 Olympic Winter Games silver medallist Laura Schuler, an assistant coach with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, and Ryerson University Rams head coach Stephanie White, who will serve as assistant coaches.

Ryan Walter has extensive prior experience playing at the international level, but this will be his first time on a Hockey Canada coaching staff. The New Westminster, B.C. native captained Canada’s National Junior Team in 1978, winning a bronze medal and recording two goals and six assists over six games at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Quebec.

Walter also represented his country at the IIHF World Championship on three occasions, during which he collected five goals and five assists in 20 games. He won bronze with Team Canada in 1982.

"It is always an honour and a privilege to represent Canada in international hockey,” said Walter. “I look forward to working with the athletes and staff of the National Women’s Team in striving for a gold medal at this year’s 4 Nations Cup."

Walter, 52, played in 1,003 NHL games with three different teams: the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks. In total, he accumulated 646 points over 15 seasons in the NHL, including career highs of 38 goals and 49 assists for Washington in 1981-82 and won a Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1986. He was the second pick overall in the 1978 NHL draft and played in the 1983 NHL All-Star Game.

After his playing career, Walter worked for TSN as a colour commentator from 19, where he focused on international hockey and the NHL, and subsequently became a commentator on television broadcasts for the  

Vancouver Canucks from 19. He moved from the broadcast booth to the bench in 2008, serving as an assistant coach with Vancouver through the 2009-10 season.

Laura Schuler was one of the founding members of Canada’s National Women’s Team, capturing a gold medal at the inaugural IIHF World Women’s Championship held in Ottawa, Ont. in 1990, as well as at the world championships in 19. Schuler played with Canada’s National Women’s Team through 2001, including the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, where she played six games and helped Canada win a silver medal.

After completing her playing career, Schuler moved on to coaching, helping the University of Massachusetts start its women’s hockey program in 2003-04 and serving as head coach of Northeastern University from 2004-08.  She won the Eastern College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award in 2004.  She joined the University of Minnesota-Duluth as an assistant coach in 2008.

Stephanie White also has an impressive coaching résumé, which includes winning a gold medal as head coach of Team Ontario Red at the 2005 National Women’s Under-18 Championship, as assistant coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2007 IIHF World Championship, and as assistant coach of Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team, both at the 2008 Air Canada Cup and at the 2010 MLP Cup. She also served as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team for the 2008-09 season, winning silver at the 2009 IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship. White has also been head coach of the Mississauga Chiefs of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, guiding the team to gold at the Esso Women’s National Championship in 2008. White took over as head coach at Ryerson University in 2008.

Hockey Canada also announced Tuesday two additions to the roster for the National Women’s Team evaluation camp, taking place from Wednesday through Sunday at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena and Norma Bush Arena in Calgary, Alta. Defenceman Cassandra Poudrier (Lachenaie, Que.) and forward Hannah Armstrong (Sharon, Ont.) bring the total number to 66 players participating in this week’s evaluation camp.

2010 4 Nations Cup

The 2010 4 Nations Cup will bring together the top four women’s hockey nations in the world – Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States – for the first time since the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. The four countries competing at the 2010 4 Nations Cup finished as the top four in Vancouver, led by the gold medal-winning Canadian team.

TSN/RDS will carry the Canada-United States game on Tuesday, November 9, which will be the first meeting for these two teams since the gold medal game at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games on . The gold medal game of the 2010 4 Nations Cup will also be broadcast on TSN/RDS, the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada, on Saturday, November 13. Check your local listings for broadcast times in your area. Games throughout the week will be available via webcast at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com, on a pay-per-view basis for $6.95 per game.

TICKET PACKAGES - For only $75, fans can attend all six games at Mile One Centre in St. John’s, including the Olympic gold medal game rematch between Canada and the United States on November 9. Ticket packages can be purchased at the Mile One Centre box office, by calling 709-576-7657 or 1-800-361-4595, or by visiting www.admission.com.

A two-game ticket package for the games in Clarenville is available for $35 (plus service fees). Ticket packages can be purchased from the Clarenville Events Centre box office, or by calling 709-466-4105 ex. 222.