CALGARY, Alta. – Nine coaches have been selected to lead Canada’s national men’s under-17 teams, set to come together at the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Medicine Hat, Alta., and Swift Current, Sask., in November.

Michael Dyck (Lethbridge, Alta./Vancouver, WHL) will head Team Canada White, with Martin Laperrière (Montreal/Quebec, QMJHL) behind the bench with Team Canada Red and Jody Hull (Petrolia, Ont./Niagara, OHL) serving as head coach of Team Canada Black.

Joining Dyck’s coaching staff will be Sylvain Favreau (Orleans, Ont./Halifax, QMJHL) and Ryan Marsh (Quesnel, B.C./Saskatoon, WHL), while Kurtis Foster (Carp, Ont./Kingston, OHL) and Steve O’Rourke (Summerland, B.C./Prince George, WHL) will work with Laperrière, and Steve Hartley (Hawkesbury, Ont./Drummondville, QMJHL) and Dylan Hunter (London, Ont./London, OHL) will assist Hull.

“We are very excited for the group of coaches that has been selected,” said Shawn Bullock, Hockey Canada’s director of national men’s teams. “The coaches we’ve chosen have some incredible experience at all levels of the sport. The decision is never easy, but we’re confident that each of these coaches brings something different to the table, and we’re excited for them to guide the development of the top young players in Canada.”

Dyck has just completed his first season as head coach of the Vancouver Giants, guiding the team to Game 7 of the WHL Championship Series. He previously served as head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) from 2005-09, was a WHL assistant with Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Vancouver and Kootenay, and coached the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL) to a bronze medal at the 2018 TELUS Cup, Canada’s National Midget Championship. Dyck was head coach of Team Pacific at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 2010 and 2012, won a silver medal with Canada at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games, and coached Alberta to silver at the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

Laperrière spent this season as associate coach with the Quebec Remparts, rejoining the team after serving as an assistant coach from 2005-16, which included a Memorial Cup championship in 2006. He spent two seasons as head coach of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL) from 2003-05 and two as head coach of the Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-François of the Ligue de hockey midget AAA du Québec (LHMAAAQ) from 2016-18, guiding the team to a silver medal at the 2017 TELUS Cup. Laperrière most recently coached Quebec to a gold medal at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

Hull was last with the Program of Excellence as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship. He also won gold as head coach at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, as an assistant at the 2013 IIHF U18 World Championship and as video coach at the 2011 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament. Hull, who just finished his first season as an associate coach with the Niagara IceDogs, spent six years as head coach of the Peterborough Petes (OHL) from 2012-18, and another five as an assistant from 2005-08 and 2010-12, winning the OHL championship in 2006. A veteran of 831 NHL games with Hartford, Ottawa, the New York Rangers, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia, he won a gold medal with Canada at the 1988 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Favreau just completed his second season as an assistant coach with the Halifax Mooseheads, reaching the Memorial Cup final. Prior to making the jump to the QMJHL, he spent two seasons as head coach of the Cumberland Grads of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) from 2015-17, adding director of hockey operations duties in his final year. Favreau was also head coach of the Gloucester Rangers (CCHL) from 2011-15, and an assistant with the Rangers from 2009-11. He is back with the U17 program for a second year in a row, having served as an assistant with Team Canada Black in 2018.

Marsh spent this season as an associate coach with the Saskatoon Blades after four years as an assistant with the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) from 2014-18. His coaching career has also included stops as an assistant with the University of Alberta (CW), Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL), Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (ACAC) and Fort Saskatchewan Traders (AJHL). Marsh, who was an assistant coach with Team Canada Red at the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, won a pair of University Cup championships as a player with the University of Alberta in 1999 and 2000.

Foster just finished his first season as head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs after one season as an assistant with Kingston and one as an assistant with the Peterborough Petes (OHL). He played 405 NHL games with Atlanta, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Edmonton, Anaheim, New Jersey and Philadelphia during a 14-year professional career that also included a Calder Cup championship with the Chicago Wolves in 2002 and a DEL title with Adler Mannheim in 2015.

O’Rourke has been an associate coach with the Prince George Cougars for the past three seasons, prior to which he served as an assistant with the Red Deer Rebels (WHL) from 2013-16, as head coach and general manager of the Langley Rivermen of the B.C. Hockey League (BCHL) in 2011-12 and as an assistant with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) from 2009-11. O’Rourke, who played professionally in the ECHL, UHL and England, was head coach of British Columbia at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

Hartley took the reins as head coach of the Drummondville Voltigeurs this season after serving two years as an assistant with the team. He was also an assistant coach with the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) from 2011-14, winning the Memorial Cup in 2013, and led the Grenadiers de Chateauguay (LHMAAAQ) to a silver medal at the 2015 TELUS Cup as head coach. Hartley has previous U17 experience with Team Quebec, serving as an assistant coach at the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Hunter returns to the U17 program after serving as an assistant with Team Canada White in 2018. He has been as an assistant coach with the London Knights since 2011, winning the Memorial Cup in 2016. He was also a Memorial Cup champion as a player with the Knights in 2005, after which he played more than 300 pro games in the AHL and ECHL.

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