CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada announced on Monday the 24 players who will represent Canada at the 2010 Spengler Cup, December 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland. The roster is mainly comprised of Canadian-born players currently playing in Europe.

The team was selected by Brad Pascall, Hockey Canada’s executive vice-president of hockey operations/national teams, and Mark Black, Hockey Canada’s manager of hockey operations/national teams, along with head coach Mark Messier (Edmonton, Alta.) and assistant coaches Doug Shedden (Wallaceburg, Ont.) and Bill Moores (Edmonton, Alta.).

“The players we have selected today are Canadian ambassadors for the game in Europe, and we are thrilled they have committed to wear the maple leaf and try to bring home another Spengler Cup championship for Canada,” says Pascall.

In addition, Serge Aubin (Val-d’Or, Que.) has been named Canada’s captain for the 2010 Spengler Cup, while Josh Holden (Calgary, Alta.) and Jean-Pierre Vigier (Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Man.) will serve as alternates.

Canada’s roster includes ten players who were part of last year’s team, which finished in fourth place (Aubin, DuPont, Jackman, Roche, Curtis Murphy, McLean, Bell, Vigier, Brooks, Brown, Down), six players who have seen action for Canada at the IIHF World Championship (Brown, DuPont, Metropolit, Kwiatkowski, Cory Murphy, Kariya) and six players who represented Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Bell, Brown, Holden, Jackman, McLean, Popovic).

This year’s Spengler Cup will include Canada’s National Men’s Team, Genève Servette (Switzerland), SKA St. Petersburg (Russia), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), Spartak Moscow (Russia) and HC Davos (Switzerland), the host team.

All of Canada’s games at the 2010 Spengler Cup will be broadcast on TSN or TSN2. CLICK HERE for the broadcast schedule.

Canada has appeared in eight of the last ten championship games, winning the Spengler Cup in 2002, 20. Overall, Canada’s National Men’s Team has won the Spengler Cup 11 times (1984, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007) since first taking part in the tournament in 1984.

The Spengler Cup, held annually since 1923, is the oldest professional international hockey tournament in the world.