VANCOUVER, BC - The Canadian Hockey Association and the British Columbia Centre of Excellence, in cooperation with the Play Right Coaching Program, the Vancouver Canucks, and the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association, will be hosting over 500 hockey coaches at the 2000 Play Right International Coaches Conference from July 6-9, 2000 in Vancouver, BC.

The conference, which will be located on the scenic University of British Columbia campus, will bring together minor, junior and professional hockey coaches from all over the world. Coaches attending represent all levels and age groups of hockey, and will share modern training and instructional techniques through workshops and presentations featuring some of the brightest hockey minds in the world.

The list of presenters represents the 'who's who of hockey': Brian Burke (Vancouver Canucks), Pat Quinn and Ken Dryden (Toronto Maple Leafs), Ken Hitchcock (Dallas Stars), Dave King (Montreal Canadiens), George Kingston (Atlanta Thrashers), Tom Renney (CHA), Peter Twist and Mike Johnston (Vancouver Canucks) and Dr. Cal Botterill, sports psychologist.

Other speakers include Erkka Westerlund, Head Coach of Jokerit in the Finnish National League, Ian Clark, President of the Goaltending Development Institute, Anatoli Bogdanov, head coach of Ukraine's National Team, E.J. McGuire, New York Rangers' scout and former NHL Coach, and Bjorn Kinding, Coach with Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

"We're extremely excited about the lineup of speakers that have committed to present at the Play Right Coaches Conference," said Johnny Misley, Director, Development at the CHA. "This is an incredible opportunity for coaches at all levels to enhance their knowledge and to learn from some of the greatest minds in the hockey world."

Of the 500 coaches that will be participating, almost 200 of them are from the province of British Columbia, 72 from the USA, and 45 from Europe and Asia, including representatives from Austria, Spain, Great Britain, Netherlands, Finland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Wales and New Zealand.

Many National Hockey League coaches will be attending as delegates, including the entire Los Angeles Kings Coaching staff: Andy Murray, Dave Tippett, Mark Hardy and Ray Bennett, as well as Curt Fraser, Head Coach of the Atlanta Thrashers.

This will be the 7th such Coaching Conference that Canada has hosted. Calgary hosted the first four in 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1994. Toronto hosted the Conference in 1996 while Saint John, NB served as host in 1998.

"The response from hockey coaches all over the world has been tremendous," said Rob Patterson, Manager, BC Centre of Excellence and Event Manager of the 2000 Play Right ICC. "This year's conference is completely sold out, and I know that each participant will be able to take a wealth of knowledge back with them in preparation for the upcoming season after attending the ICC here in Vancouver."