The following press release comes from Hockey Canada.
Coaching staffs named for Canada’s National Junior Team and Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team
CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Hockey League and Hockey Canada Program of Excellence management group, announced Monday that Dave Lowry (Ottawa, Ont./Victoria, WHL) will serve as the head coach of Canada’s National Junior Team for the 2015-16 season, while Kelly McCrimmon (Plenty, Sask./Brandon, WHL) will be the head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team.
Dominique Ducharme (Joliette, Que./Halifax, QMJHL), Martin Raymond (Pierrefonds, Que./Drummondville, QMJHL) and D.J. Smith (Windsor, Ont./Oshawa, OHL) will serve as assistant coaches for Canada’s National Junior Team, while Sheldon Keefe (Brampton, Ont./Sault Ste. Marie, OHL) and Darren Rumble (Barrie, Ont./Moncton, QMJHL) join McCrimmon behind the bench with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team.
Both coaching staffs were selected by Canada’s National Junior Team policy committee and the Program of Excellence management group, alongside Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada’s vice-president of hockey operations and national teams, and Tom Renney, Hockey Canada’s president and chief executive officer.
Canada’s National Junior Team
Dave Lowry, 50, won a gold medal as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. He has been the head coach of the WHL’s Victoria Royals for three seasons, after serving as head coach of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen during the 2008-09 season. The native of Ottawa, Ont., was named WHL coach of the year in 2013-14. As a player, he appeared in 1,084 NHL games over 19 seasons with Vancouver, St. Louis, Florida, San Jose and Calgary. Lowry was named head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team in 2009, but stepped down after he was named an assistant coach with the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
Dominique Ducharme, 42, will make his second appearance behind a Team Canada bench, having won a gold medal with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2013 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament. He is in his fourth season as head coach of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, having led the team to its first-ever Memorial Cup championship in 2013. Ducharme joined the Mooseheads after three seasons as an assistant coach with the Montreal Juniors. While with Montreal, Ducharme was an assistant coach with Quebec at the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, finishing fourth. Ducharme played professionally for seven seasons from 1995 to 2002, including stops in the ECHL, AHL and Europe.
Martin Raymond, 50, won a gold medal as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, and with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2014 U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. He also served as head coach of Quebec at the 2004 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, winning a bronze medal. Raymond is in his second season as head coach of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, having spent the previous four years as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. He was head coach of the men’s hockey team at McGill University from 1995 to 2009, winning the OUA championship in 2006 and 2008 and earning CIS coach of the year honours in 2005-06.
D.J. Smith, 37, joined Ducharme as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2013 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament, winning a gold medal. He is in his third season as head coach with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, and was named OHL coach of the year in 2013-14. Prior to joining the Generals, Smith spent seven seasons with his hometown Windsor Spitfires as an assistant and associate coach, winning a pair of Memorial Cups in 2009 and 2010. Smith played junior hockey with the Spitfires before a nine-year professional career that including 45 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche.
Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team
Kelly McCrimmon, 54, will make his first appearance with the Program of Excellence. He is the owner, general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, having been with the team since 1988-89. The general manager since 1989, McCrimmon served as head coach from 2004-11, and has been in the same role since 2013. He has helped the Wheat Kings to three appearances at the Memorial Cup, once as a player (1979), once as general manager (1996) and once as head coach and general manager (2010). McCrimmon was named WHL executive of the year in 1994-95 and 2009-10, and received the CHL Executive of the Year award in 2009-10.
Sheldon Keefe, 34, served as head coach of Canada White at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and is in his third season as head coach of the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Prior to joining the Greyhounds, Keefe spent six seasons as owner, general manager and head coach of the CCHL’s Pembroke Lumber Kings, leading the team to victory at the 2011 RBC Cup, Canada’s National Junior A Championship. He was an assistant coach with Canada East at the 2012 World Junior A Challenge, and was head coach of Team East for the 2011 CJHL Prospects Game. Keefe played 125 NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and also spent time in the AHL and IHL.
Darren Rumble, 46, will be part of the Program of Excellence for the first time. He is in his second season as head coach of the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats, after previously serving as head coach of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, and as an assistant coach with the Admirals, WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, QMJHL’s Lewiston MAINEiacs and AHL’s Springfield Falcons. Rumble was also an assistant coach with Iceland at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Division II, Group A, winning a bronze medal. A first-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, Rumble played 193 NHL games with Philadelphia, Ottawa, St. Louis and Tampa Bay during a 16-year professional career.
Rosters and schedules for Canada’s National Junior Team summer development camp and Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp will be announced later this year.
For more information on Hockey Canada and the Program of Excellence, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca, or follow on social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_men.
