The Saskatoon Blades will have to do without head coach Brennan Sonne for a couple of weeks in the not-too-distant future.

The 36-year-old bench boss for the Bridge City Bunch was named an assistant coach for Team Canada White at next month’s World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Charlottetown and Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Sonne will work alongside head coach John Dean from Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario League with Canada-White and fellow assistant Eric Bouchard from Shawinigan of the Quebec Major Junior loop. The tournament runs November 2-11 with five other teams besides Team Canada White, namely Team Canada Red, the United States, Sweden, Finland and Czechia. The Blades, who will play five games while Sonne is away, will be directed by associate coach Dan Da Silva and assistant Wacey Rabbit. Following are conversations Les Lazaruk had with Sonne and Da Silva, plus the news releases from the Blades and Hockey Canada…..

October 06, 2023

NR.066.23

COACHES NAMED FOR 2023 WORLD UNDER-17 HOCKEY CHALLENGE

John Dean and Carl Mallette to lead the two Canadian squads.

CALGARY, AB – Hockey Canada will work together with six Canadian Hockey League (CHL) coaches to guide Canada’s national under-17 teams at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Charlottetown and Summerside, PEI next month.

John Dean (Don Mills, ON/Sault Ste Marie, OHL), and Carl Mallette (Montreal, QC/Victoriaville, QMJHL) will serve as head coaches of Team Canada White and Team Canada Red, respectively.

Joining Dean on the Canada White bench will be assistant coaches Eric Bouchard (Montreal, QC/Shawinigan, QMJHL) and Brennan Sonne (Maple Ridge, BC/Saskatoon, WHL).

Rounding out the Canada Red staff are assistant coaches Matt Anholt (Prince Albert, SK/Lethbridge, WHL) and Norm Milley (Toronto, ON/Ottawa, OHL).

“The under-17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, and we are excited to welcome coaches from across the CHL to help introduce the country’s top young players to our program,” said Scott Salmond (Creston, BC), senior vice-president of hockey operations. “All of these coaches bring a unique skill set, combining playing and international and junior hockey experience, and we look forward to the coaching staff helping deliver a world-class event for all participants.”

Dean has been head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the last five seasons (2018-23). Prior to joining the Greyhounds, he spent three seasons (2014-17) as an assistant coach with the OHL’s North Bay Battalion. Dean also served as an assistant and head coach of the North York Rangers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) for five seasons (2009-14) and as assistant general manager and head coach of the OJHL’s Toronto Patriots for two (2017-18). He made his international coaching debut at the 2017 World Junior A Challenge, serving as video coach for Team Canada East, and won a bronze medal with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship.

Mallette has been the head coach of the Victoriaville Tigres of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the past three seasons (2020-23), prior to which he was an assistant coach with the team for three seasons (2017-20). He also served as an assistant coach with Team Canada Red at the 2021 Capital City Challenge and Team Canada Black at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Anholt is entering his third season as an assistant coach with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Prior to that, he spent two seasons as the Hurricanes’ skills and development coach. Ahead of the 2021-22 season, Anholt added assistant general manager to his title, working alongside his father, Lethbridge GM Peter Anholt.

Bouchard was named as an assistant coach of the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes in June. This will be his second season in the QMJHL, having spent the 2022-23 season as an assistant with with the Val-d’Or Foreurs. Prior to his time in Val-d’Or, he spent three seasons (2019-22) as head coach of College Francais de Longueuil of the Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec (LHJAAAQ), winning coach of the year honours in 2019-20 and 2021-22.

Milley has spent the past six seasons (2017-2023) as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s and made his international coaching debut as an assistant with Team Canada White at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He entered the coaching world after a 17-year professional playing career with stops in the NHL, AHL and DEL in Germany. He represented Canada on four occasions, including the 1998 Four Nations Cup and a trio of Deutschland Cups (2009, 2011, 2013).

Sonne is entering his third season as the head coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. Prior to arriving in Saskatoon, he spent four seasons (2017-21) as head coach of Angers in the Ligue Magnus in France and three seasons (2014-17) as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. Last season, Sonne earned the Dunc McCallum Trophy as WHL coach of the year.

The Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown will play host to 12 games during the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, including both medal games and a Canadian double-header on Nov. 4.

Ten games will be played at Credit Union Place in Summerside, beginning with Team Canada White facing Czechia on Nov. 2, as well as an all-Canadian matchup on Nov. 3.