Babcock expected to coach Canada at World Cup

Mike Babcock is back to coach Canada at the World Cup of Hockey.

“When Army called me I couldn’t say no”, Babcock told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Babcock will guide Canada’s bench for the fourth time in his coaching career. Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien, Carolina Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters, and Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz will also serve as assistant coaches on the team.

A 19-year coaching veteran with the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche and the Blackhawks, Quenneville is the third-winningest coach in National Hockey League history with 761.

Mike Babcock of the Maple Leafs is expected to be named head coach after leading Canada to gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics. “He’s done it obviously at the world championships, he’s done it at the Olympics”, Armstrong said Thursday at a news conference announcing the coaching staff. “I think his record obviously speaks for itself”. “They’re all going to have great players”.

In an interesting twist, Quenneville’s team will be competing against another member of the Blackhawks’ brain trust, as G.M. Stan Bowman will take on an assistant G.M. role with the Young Stars team at the World Cup, which will take place next summer. “Certainly he has proven why he’s a great coach and why it’s well deserved”.

Julien was with Babcock in Sochi when Canada went on an undefeated run to gold. All games will be played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. In addition to six teams representing individual countries (United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic), there will be a Team Europe for European countries not represented, as well as a Team North America for North American players ages 23 and younger.

Each team must name a 16-man roster by March 1 and then the rest by June 1.