CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada announced that André Tourigny (Nicolet, Que./Ottawa, OHL) will take over behind the bench of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team following the departure of Gilles Bouchard, who has accepted an assistant coach position with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.
Tourigny will coach alongside assistants Mitch Love (Quesnel, B.C./Saskatoon, WHL) and Ryan Oulahen (Newmarket, Ont./Flint, OHL) during selection camp and at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
“André’s experience and success across many different leagues is an incredible asset to our National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team,” said Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of national teams with Hockey Canada. “We are excited to welcome a coach with previous international experience at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and IIHF World Junior Championship, and we look forward to André’s leadership as Team Canada hits the ice for selection camp and at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup this summer.”
Tourigny recently completed his first season as head coach and vice-president of hockey operations with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He previously spent 11 seasons with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (2002-13) and one season with the Halifax Mooseheads (2016-17) of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Tourigny also spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche (2013-15) and Ottawa Senators (2015-16) in the National Hockey League. He served as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, and won back-to-back silver medals as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Junior Team at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2010 and 2011.
In the coming weeks, 44 players will compete for a spot on Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team during a week-long selection camp before a 22-player roster will be selected to compete at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, set for Aug. 6-11 at Rogers Place in Edmonton and Servus Arena in Red Deer.
Ticket packages, including an all-new three game Team Canada package, and single-game tickets for the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup can be purchased online starting today at 10 a.m. MT on HlinkaGretzyCup.com.
For more information on Hockey Canada, Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team, and the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter.com/HC_Men.