FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 13, 2015
TEAM NORTH AMERICA NAMES ASSISTANT COACHES FOR WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY 2016
Cooper, DeBoer, Tippett and Woodcroft Appointed to Coaching Staff
TORONTO/NEW YORK (Nov. 13, 2015) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL®) announced today the appointment of Team North America’s Assistant Coaches: Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning), Peter DeBoer (San Jose Sharks), Dave Tippett (Arizona Coyotes) and Jay Woodcroft (Edmonton Oilers). The four assistant coaches will report to Team North America General Manager Peter Chiarelli (Edmonton Oilers), Associate General Manager Stan Bowman (Chicago Blackhawks) and Head Coach Todd McLellan (Edmonton Oilers).
“We are excited to announce Team North America’s assistant coaches for the World Cup of Hockey 2016,” said Chiarelli. “Jon, Peter, Dave and Jay are great additions to our staff and their tremendous experience will go a long way in helping our young players have a successful tournament.”
Cooper made his NHL coaching debut in March of 2013 and has led the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his two full seasons, including a 50-win season and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014-15. In 2014, Cooper was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. Before joining the Lightning, Cooper also found success in coaching minor league and junior hockey, as he guided his teams to championships in the AHL, USHL, NAHL and the NA3HL. Cooper was a four-year letter-winner on the men’s Division I lacrosse team at Hofstra, where he also played on the club hockey team and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich., where he practiced law until 2003.
DeBoer is in his first season as Head Coach of the San Jose Sharks and spent the last three and a half seasons behind the bench of the New Jersey Devils. DeBoer led the Devils to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final and is the second-most winningest coach in Devils history. Prior to coaching the Devils, he spent three seasons as Head Coach of the Florida Panthers and 13 seasons coaching three teams in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), highlighted by the Memorial Cup championship (2003) and two OHL championships (2003, 2008) with the Kitchener Rangers. Internationally, DeBoer has served as an assistant coach for Team Canada four times at the World Championship (2010, 2011, 2014, 2015) and twice at the World Junior Championship (1998, 2005). As a player, DeBoer was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 12th round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.
Tippett is the Head Coach of the Arizona Coyotes, his thirteenth season as an NHL Head Coach. In his 12 seasons between the Coyotes and Dallas Stars, Tippett has guided his teams to eight postseason berths, four 100-point seasons, three 50-win seasons, five 40-win seasons and three Division titles while approaching 500 career coaching wins. Now in his seventh season as Head Coach of Arizona, Tippett led the Coyotes to the Western Conference Final in 2012, and in 2010 he was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy as the League’s top coach. Prior to joining Arizona, Tippett spent six seasons as Head Coach of Dallas and led the Stars to the Western Conference Final in 2008. During a 10-season playing career, the undrafted forward played in 721 NHL games, registering 93 goals and 262 points with the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. Internationally, he captained Team Canada at the 1984 Olympics and earned a silver medal as a member of Team Canada at the 1992 Olympics. In 1982, Tippett was a member of the University of North Dakota’s NCAA Division I Championship team.
Woodcroft is in his first season as an Assistant Coach with the Edmonton Oilers and previously served as an Assistant Coach with the Sharks for seven seasons under McLellan. Prior to joining San Jose, Woodcroft spent three seasons on the Detroit Red Wings coaching staff, including 2008 when the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. Woodcroft’s career as an NHL coach commenced after a six-year minor league playing career that included stints in the German Oberliga, as well as the CHL, UHL, WCHL and ECHL. Woodcroft graduated with a degree in finance from the University of Alabama-Huntsville, where he also played four seasons and was an Academic All-American.
The World Cup of Hockey returns in September 2016 in Toronto, where eight teams, comprised of the world’s best hockey players, will compete for a best-on-best international hockey championship. In addition to Team North America, the teams participating will include Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Team Europe, Russia, Sweden and the United States. The World Cup of Hockey is a joint effort of the NHLPA and the NHL, in cooperation with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It is expected that more than 150 of the best players in the NHL will participate in this tournament.
The eight teams are split into two Groups, Group A and Group B, for the Preliminary Round (Sept. 17-22), when each team will play its three Group opponents in a round-robin format. Placed in Group A are Team Canada, Team Czech Republic, Team Europe and Team USA. The four teams in Group B are Team Finland, Team North America, Team Russia and Team Sweden.
The top two finishers in Group A and Group B will advance to the Semifinals (Sept. 24 25), where the first-place team from each Group will face an elimination game against the second-place team from the other Group. The two Semifinal winners will meet in the Final, a best-of-three series on Sept. 27, Sept. 29 and, if necessary, Oct. 1.
Live coverage of all tournament games will be provided by Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada and ESPN in the United States. A complete broadcast schedule will be announced at a later date.
Tickets are available for purchase via www.Ticketmaster.ca and www.Ticketmaster.com, the official ticket marketplace of the NHL®. The offering is a World Cup of Hockey 2016 Tournament Pass, which provides admission to all games played at Air Canada Centre during the tournament. Pricing reflects a 17-game Tournament Pass and includes HST. Additional fees may apply. Prices are in Canadian dollars. This opportunity is available on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last.
For more information on the World Cup of Hockey 2016, including team management updates, visit www.wch2016.com.
World Cup of Hockey 2016 Management Teams as of November 13, 2015
Team Canada
Tom Renney, President
Scott Smith, Chief Operating Officer
Scott Salmond, Hockey Operations
Doug Armstrong, General Manager
Marc Bergevin, Assistant General Manager
Rob Blake, Assistant General Manager
Ken Holland, Assistant General Manager
Bob Murray, Assistant General Manager
Mike Babcock, Head Coach
Claude Julien, Assistant Coach
Bill Peters, Assistant Coach
Joel Quenneville, Assistant Coach
Barry Trotz, Assistant Coach
Team Czech Republic
Tomas Kral, President
Martin Urban, General Secretary
Slavomir Lener, General Manager
Jan Cerny, Director of Operations
Team Europe
Franz Reindl, President/Team Leader
Miroslav Satan, General Manager
Ralph Krueger, Head Coach
Paul Maurice, Assistant Coach
Peter Bondra, Scouting Staff
Sean Burke, Scouting Staff
Lorne Henning, Scouting Staff
Vaclav Nedomansky, Scouting Staff
Ricky Olczyk, Scouting Staff
Myles Fee, Video Coach
Team Finland
Kale Kummola, President
Matti Nurminen, Executive Director
Jere Lehtinen, General Manager
Jarmo Kekalainen, Assistant General Manager
Lauri Marjamaki, Head Coach
Team North America
Peter Chiarelli, General Manager
Stan Bowman, Associate General Manager
Ryan Jankowski, Director of Operations
Adam Graves, Special Assistant to the General Managers
Pat Verbeek, Director of Player Personnel
Paul Fenton, Director of Player Personnel
Todd McLellan, Head Coach
Jon Cooper, Assistant Coach
Peter DeBoer, Assistant Coach
Dave Tippett, Assistant Coach
Jay Woodcroft, Assistant Coach
Team Sweden
Tommy Boustedt, General Secretary
Peter Forsberg, Vice President/Team Leader
Rickard Gronborg, Head Coach
Johan Garpenlov, Assistant Coach
Peter Popovic, Assistant Coach
Daniel Alfredsson, Advisory Board
Nicklas Lidstrom, Advisory Board
Mats Sundin, Advisory Board
Team Russia
Vladislav Tretiak, President
Roman Rotenberg, First Vice President
Dmitry Kurbatov, Executive Director
Oleg Znarok, Head Coach
Harijs Vitolins, Assistant Coach
Team USA
Jim Johannson, Hockey Operations
Dean Lombardi, General Manager
Paul Holmgren, Assistant General Manager
Brian Burke, Senior Advisor
John Tortorella, Head Coach
### (11/13/2015)
