OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Tuesday its coaching staff for a two-game exhibition series between CIS men's hockey all-stars and Canada's National Junior Team prospects in December.
The two-game set, which was announced last week, will take place at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET and Sunday, Dec. 13 at noon ET as part of the National Junior Team's preparation for the 40th IIHF World Junior Championship in Finland (Dec. 26 – Jan. 5).
Shawn Camp from the University of Guelph has been appointed head coach of the all-CIS squad. He will be accompanied behind the bench by assistant coaches representing all three CIS conferences, including Darren Burns from Acadia University, Brett Gibson from Queen's University and Mike Sirant from the University of Manitoba.
"It is a sincere privilege to coach with such an experienced staff and to work with such elite student-athletes from across the country," said Camp, a former Memorial Cup-winning coach who last winter led Guelph to its first OUA title since 1997 and a bronze medal at the University Cup national championship. "The support and partnership of Hockey Canada, CIS and our sponsors will ensure that this series will be very exciting."
Camp is currently in his ninth season at the helm of the Guelph Gryphons. The Ottawa native had almost a decade of CHL coaching experience when he made the jump to university hockey in 2007, including a Memorial Cup triumph as an assistant coach with the Hull Olympiques in 1997 and an OHL championship as bench boss of the Guelph Storm in 2004. An assistant coach with the Canadian team that claimed bronze at the 2011 Winter Universiade in Turkey, he was part of Hockey Canada's successful under-18 program for two years in the early 2000s, winning a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Cup (assistant coach), silver at the 2005 World Championship (head coach) and gold at the 2005 World Junior Cup (head coach). Over the years, Camp, who is also the development camp coach for the Ottawa Senators since 2002, has mentored an impressive list of current NHL players including the likes of Jonathan Toews, Dan Girardi, Ryan Callahan and Daniel Paille.
Burns, who hails from Brockville, Ont., is in his 15th campaign in charge at Acadia. A three-time conference coach of the year and the 2005 recipient of the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award at the CIS level, he has guided his troops to a pair of AUS titles and was an assistant coach with the Universiade gold medal-winning squad in 2007 in Italy. The former Axemen captain was a member of two University Cup championship teams at Acadia, first as a player in 1993 and then as an assistant in 1996.
Gibson, in his 10th year leading the Queen's Gaels after taking over from NHL legend Kirk Muller, was announced last month as Canada's head coach for the 2017 Winter Universiade in Kazakhstan. Named the OUA East and CIS coach of the year in 2014, the Gananoque, Ont., native played four seasons in the OHL from 1996 to 2000 with Erie, North Bay and London.
Sirant is in his third stint as head coach of the Manitoba Bisons, amounting to 20 years behind the U of M bench. During a three-year break from CIS hockey from 2006 to 2009, the Winnipeg native served as the sports director and head coach of the Danish national men's program. The winningest coach in Bisons' history and a three-time Canada West coach of the year, he has helped Canada claim bronze medals at the Universiade in 1997 (head coach) and 2015 (associate coach).
The 23-player CIS roster for the Dec. 12-13 doubleheader, comprised of 11 standouts from the OUA as well as six apiece from the AUS and Canada West, will be unveiled on Nov. 30.
For its part, Hockey Canada will announce the lineup of players invited to the National Junior Team selection camp on Dec. 1.
Source: CIS Communications