On Wednesday morning, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that former NHL head coach Gerard Gallant is expected to be named head coach of Team Canada for the next month’s 2021 IIHF World Championship. It was confirmed not long after LeBrun’s post and Gallant will be joined by assistants Mike Kehlly and Andre Tourigny.
The upcoming men’s world hockey championships will be in Riga, Latvia.
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Gallant is familiar with working with Team Canada. He was an assistant at the World Championship in 2007 and 2017 and as part of the 2016 World Cup team. Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney released a statement on the decision to hire Gallant:
We are fortunate to lean on the professional and executive experience that all three gentlemen will bring as Canada gets set for the IIHF World Championship in Latvia. Gerard and Mike have worked together both at the NHL and junior level and have an understanding of what it takes to compete and win. André complements them with his extensive coaching résumé and recent experience at the World Juniors. We believe we have selected a group that will build on each other’s strengths and provide exceptional leadership, with input from Roberto [Luongo] and the Olympic management group, as our team prepares to compete for a gold medal.
His last full-time coaching position was with the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2019-20 season when he was replaced midseason by Pete DeBoer.
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