Saskatoon product Darcy Kuemper, Prince Albert native Braden Schneider and projected first overall 2021 N-H-L Draft prospect Owen Power are among the 22 skaters and three goaltenders heading to the men’s Double-I-H-F World Hockey Championship next week in Latvia on behalf of Canada.
Kuemper is one of three goaltenders. The 31-year-old Arizona puck-stopper was part of Canada’s 2018 World Championship entry. Schneider, meanwhile, is a 19-year-old Prince Albert native who played this past season with the W-H-L’s Brandon Wheat Kings. He has suited up most recently for the Rangers’ American League affiliate in Hartford after being a first round pick of the Broadway Blueshirts in the 2020 N-H-L Draft. Canada opens the Worlds a week from today against host Latvia. They will also face Finland, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Norway and the United States in preliminary round action. The tournament wraps up June 6th. Following is the official news release from Hockey Canada…
May 14, 2021
NR.017.21
25 PLAYERS SELECTED TO REPRESENT CANADA AT 2021 IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Canada kicks off worlds against host Latvia on May 21
CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada has unveiled the 25 players named to Canada’s National Men’s Team for the 2021 IIHF World Championship, May 21-June 6 in Riga, Latvia.
Three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 14 forwards were selected by general manager Roberto Luongo (Montreal, Que./Florida, NHL), assistant GM Shane Doan (Halkirk, Alta./Arizona, NHL), Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of national teams with Hockey Canada, and Tyler Dietrich (West Vancouver, B.C.), senior manager of national teams with Hockey Canada.
The roster features four players that have previously been on the Team Canada roster at the IIHF World Championship (DiPietro, Henrique, Kuemper, Stecher) and 10 that have played at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Anderson-Dolan, Bahl, Comtois, DiPietro, Dubé, Foudy, Henrique, Paul, Perfetti, Schneider).
“Hockey Canada is excited to announce the 25 players that have been selected to wear the Maple Leaf at the 2021 IIHF World Championship. We know the players and staff will represent Canada with pride as they compete for a gold medal in Latvia,” said Luongo. “Our roster combines veteran leadership with a lot of young talent, and we are excited for a number of players who have the opportunity to represent their country for the first time.”
In addition, Michael Dyck (Lethbridge, Alta./Vancouver, WHL) has been named an assistant coach, and will support the coaching staff as the eye in the sky.
Dyck most recently won a silver medal as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. He has served as head coach of the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League since 2018. Dyck was head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, leading the team to a silver medal, was head coach of Team Pacific at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 2010 and 2012, won a silver medal with Canada at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games and coached Alberta to silver at the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
The support staff that will work with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship includes:
- Video coach James Emery (Calgary, Alta.)
- Athletic therapists Kevin Elliott (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) and Domenic Nicoletta (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont./Ottawa, NHL)
- Equipment managers John Forget (Oshawa, Ont./Ottawa, NHL) and Alex Menezes (Gatineau, Que./Ottawa, NHL)
- Team physician Dr. Tim Cregan (Pointe-Claire, Que./Ottawa, NHL)
- Massage therapist Andy Hüppi (Jona, Switzerland)
- Manager of national teams Chelsea Stewart (Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
- Coordinator of national teams Jacob Dubé (Cochrane, Alta.)
Prior to travelling to Riga on May 15, players and staff were required to self-isolate or follow their league COVID-19 protocols as of May 10 and will be tested for COVID-19 three times. Upon arrival in Latvia, all team personnel will enter a three-day quarantine at the hotel before entering a team quarantine on May 18.
Canada opens the 2021 IIHF World Championship on Friday, May 21 at Arena Riga against host Latvia with preliminary-round games through Tuesday, June 1. Canada will also face Finland, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Norway and the United States in the preliminary round before the tournament wraps up with the bronze and gold medal games on Sunday, June 6. TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast all 64 tournament games; please check local listings for details.
Since 1931, Canada has won the world championship 20 times – not counting the years when Olympic Winter Games gold medallists were also considered world champions. Canada has also collected 13 silver medals and seven bronze.
