Following Tuesday’s appointment of Dave Lowry as an assistant coach with the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames, Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League have announced a change in the coaching staff of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team. Bob Boughner, the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires, will replace Lowry as the team’s head coach.
Boughner, who spent 10 years as a player in the National Hockey League with Buffalo, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Calgary, Carolina and Colorado, is a two-time OHL and CHL coach of the year and led Windsor to the first Memorial Cup championship in franchise history in May. The Spitfires captured the National title after winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL Champions after finishing first overall in the league through the regular season.
“Dave Lowry is an outstanding young coach, and we congratulate him on his new position with the Calgary Flames,” said Brad Pascall, Hockey Canada’s senior director of men’s national teams. “The National Men’s Under-18 Team is a key opportunity for Hockey Canada to develop coaches and players for possible future Program of Excellence opportunities such as the IIHF World Under-18 Championship or the IIHF World Junior Championship. It was therefore important to make this change for the benefit of our program. We are very excited to name Bob Boughner as our new head coach.”
Chris DePiero (Oshawa Generals) and Mark Holick, who were named assistant coaches on May 20, will remain on the coaching staff of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team.
Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp will run from August 1-4 at the Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary. Details, including red and white rosters, will be announced at a later date.
Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team is one of two under-18 teams that Hockey Canada assembles during each season. A second men’s under-18 team will take part in the 2010 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Belarus in April 2010, and will be comprised of available players not involved in the playoffs with their respective teams. The under-18 program, along with the regional under-17 program and the national under-20 program make up Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, which identifies, evaluates and develops players for international competition.
For more information on Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, visit www.hockeycanada.ca.
