Hartsburg not returning to Team Canada juniors

NEWS RELEASE

HOCKEY CANADA

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Team Canada Junior Coaches Decide Not To Return For 2009 World Juniors

Calgary (AB) - After leading Canada to two consecutive gold medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship, head coach Craig Hartsburg (Stratford, ON/ Sault Ste. Marie, OHL) and assistant coaches Curtis Hunt (Regina, SK/ Regina, WHL) and Clément Jodoin (St-Césaire, QC/ Rimouski, QMJHL) will not return behind Canada’s bench at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship. All three coaches decided not to submit their names as candidates for the 2009 coaching staff.

Hartsburg and Jodoin also served as assistant coaches, under head coach Brent Sutter, at the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship, also capturing a gold medal in Vancouver.

“The past three years, as part of Canada’s National Junior Team, have been tremendous and I will always cherish the memories of working with the staff and players towards winning gold medals,” said Craig Hartsburg.

“As coaches, it is our time to step aside and let other great Canadian coaches lead Canada to more success. We are all three part of very proud CHL franchises and look forward to continuing to devote ourselves to our club teams. Come Christmas-time, I am sure that Curtis, Clément and I will be among the millions of Canadians in front of our TV sets cheering on Canada at the World Juniors in Ottawa.”

“On behalf of Hockey Canada, I would like to thank Craig, Curtis and Clément,” said Hockey Canada CEO and President Bob Nicholson. “We are very proud of their accomplishments over the past two World Junior Championship, and in the case of Craig and Clément, their past three events. As a coaching staff, they did a great job of keeping the players and staff focused on the task at hand. We are proud to count them as part of the Hockey Canada and CHL family.”

Hockey Canada, along with the Canadian Hockey League, has already undertaken a process to name the coaching staff for this year’s National Junior Team and Canada’s Under 18 team in August. The National Junior Team Policy Committee conducted a number of interviews earlier this month with coaching candidates for the National Junior Team and the National Summer Under-18 Team, with the remaining interviews to be completed in May. An announcement is expected by early June 2008. The 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship will be held in Ottawa from December 26, 2008 through January 5, 2009.

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