AJHL Coaches Lead Team Pacific at World U17

Posted by Todd Moffett on December 30, 2009

Olds Grizzlys Head Coach Kevin Hasselberg and Canmore Eagles Head Coach Andrew Milne are representing the Alberta Junior Hockey League and Canada as members of the Coaching Staff for Team Pacific at the 2010 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.  The 2010 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will take place in Timmons, Ontario from December 29, 2009 to January 4, 2010.

Kevin Hasselberg will serve as Assistant Coach for Team Pacific, while Andrew Milne has been selected as Video Coach for the team.  “I am extremely honoured and very fortunate to be in this position”, said Hasselberg regarding the opportunity.

The event brings together the top players in the world born in 1993 or later.  The tournament is made up of 10 teams from Atlantic (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) Germany, Ontario, Pacific (Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon), Russia, Finland, Quebec, Slovakia, United States and West (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut).  All five international teams have appeared in the gold medal game at past World Under-17 Hockey Challenges, with three – Russia (1988, 2000), Finland (1990) and the United States (2001, 2002) – hoisting the Quebec Cup as tournament champions.

The under-17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Many players who compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under-18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

The preliminary round will run from December 29 to January 2, with semi-finals set for January 3 and the bronze and gold medal games scheduled for January 4 at McIntyre Arena in Timmins. The gold medal game can be seen on TSN/RDS, the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada.

At the 2009 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Port Alberni, BC, Team Pacific took home a Silver Medal.

Click Here for more information, scores, statistics and World Under 17 News.