CALGARY – Canada’s National Men’s Team announced Tuesday the rosters for the upcoming Swiss Challenge and Deutschland Cup. The Swiss Challenge will take place November 7 in Zurich, SUI, while the Deutschland Cup will go November 9-12 in Hannover, GER. Canada is the defending champion at the Deutschland Cup, having finished the 2005 event with a 3-1 record.
Canada’s National Men’s Team will use 39 Canadian players for these two events, pulled from a number of European leagues.
“Every season a number of Canadian players playing professionally in Europe give themselves to our National Men’s Team program to serve their country in international play,” said Johnny Misley, executive vice-president of Hockey Canada. “They are truly tremendous ambassadors for all Canadians by representing our nation in Europe.”
Canada’s National Men’s Team will participate in a total of three events in 2006: the Swiss Challenge, Deutschland Cup, and Spengler Cup. The roster and staff for the Spengler Cup will be announced in mid-December.
SWISS CHALLENGE – November 7 in Zurich, SUI vs. SUI
Canada will have a roster of 21 players for the game in Zurich, with the majority coming from Swiss League teams. The team will be coached by Sean Simpson (Brampton, ON), who coaches EV Zug in the Swiss League. He’ll be joined behind the bench by Jim Koleff (Hamilton, ON) and Mike McParland (North Bay, ON). The game will also serve as an evaluation of Canadian players for the 2006 Spengler Cup, which takes place in Davos, SUI from December 26-31. Canada’s Spengler Cup roster is annually composed of players playing in Switzerland, as the Swiss League is the only European league that breaks during this event.
DEUTSCHLAND CUP – November 9-12 in Hannover, GER
Five of the players from the Swiss Challenge (Munro, McDonald, Pollock, Sarault, T. Wright) will remain with the team and travel to Germany for the Deutschland Cup. They will be joined by 18 other players, originating mainly from teams in the German Elite League, to make up Canada’s roster for the six-team event. Ron Kennedy (North Battleford, SK), head coach of ERC Ingolstadt of the German Elite League, will be the team’s head coach, with Koleff and Bob Leslie (Pilot Mound, MB) serving as assistants.
| Event/Événement | Game/Result | Time/Heure (local) | Location/Endroit |
| SWISS CHALLENGE | |||
| November 7 | CAN vs. SUI | 20:00 (14:00 ET) | Hallenstadion, Zurich |
| DEUTSCHLAND CUP | |||
| November 8 (ex) | CAN vs. GER | 19:30 (13:30 ET) | Color Line Arena, Hannover |
| November 9 | CAN vs. LAT | 16:30 (13:30 ET) | TUI Arena, Hannover |
| November 11 | CAN vs. SVK | 14:30 (10:30 ET) | TUI Arena, Hannover |
| November 12 | Playoff Game | TBD (TBD) | TUI Arena, Hannover |
Ron Pyette, Hockey Canada’s Manager, Men’s National Teams, will be the media contact for the team for both events. He can be reached in Switzerland (Nov. 6-7) at (011) 41 79 487 22 65, and in Germany (Nov. 8-12) at (011) 49 152 – 7118423.
For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Team, visit www.hockeycanada.ca.