BRECLAV, Czech Republic – Head coach Stan Butler announced Sunday that Brett Howden (Oakbank, Man./Moose Jaw, WHL)  will serve as captain of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2015 U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, which begins Monday in Breclav and Bratislava, Slovakia.

In addition, Butler announced that Tyler Benson (Edmonton, Alta./Vancouver, WHL) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (Rimouski, Que./Cape Breton, QMJHL) will serve as alternate captains during the tournament.

Canada opens the tournament against the Czech Republic on Monday, Aug. 10 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. Canada will also face Sweden and Switzerland in preliminary round play.

Canada has won the annual summer under-18 tournament seven consecutive years, and has won 19 of 24 tournaments since 1991. It will play in Group A in Breclav with the Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland. Group B, which consists of Finland, Russia, Slovakia and the United States, will play out of Bratislava. The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals on Friday, Aug. 14, with the gold medal game scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15.

Webcasts of Canada’s games in Breclav at the 2015 U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup will be available online. To watch, CLICK HERE.

NOTE TO MEDIA: All media inquiries during the 2015 U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup can be directed to Morgan Bell, Hockey Canada’s media relations coordinator, who can be reached at [email protected].

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_men.