Don Hay given the job of coaching the Canadian team for 2012 IIHF World Junior Championships (Part 2)
We continue the story of Don Hay being hired as Canadian Junior team’s coach for the IIHF 2012 Junior World Championships.
The players who want to play under him certainly need to work hard as he strictly believes in selection upon merit and whoever plays the best in next couple of months will make it in his team.
One of the big questions that comes with the appointment of Hay as coach is whether he will be including the expected No.1 draft pick of the NHL upcoming draft, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, in the team or not.
In response to this, Hay said, "I'm hoping he'll be there. You are always going to lose players to NHL teams, but he's put together an outstanding year in Red Deer and really established himself as the premier player in the WHL. We're hoping that he's going to be a candidate for the team"
Hay will be assisted by an Ontario Hockey League coach, George Burnett. He was part of the Canadian team as an assistant coach that won the silver medal in the last tournament.
"There's no guarantee you're going to win a gold medal … you have to earn it. The other countries are all very competitive now. It means a lot more to the other countries; they've followed different things that Canada has done well in their program and using it. That's why I think the games are so good and more intense than ever before”, said Hay.
Hay has a very successful coaching career that witnessed him becoming only the fifth coach in the WHL (World Hockey League) history to bag 500 wins to his name.
Not only this, but he has been on the end of winning the best coach award in 1999 and 2009.
There are several other achievements that he came across with the most notable being his induction into the BC Hall of Fame and the Canadian Hockey League declaring him as the best coach of all time.
Six of the players from last year are still going to be in the running to play in the Canadian Juniors’ team this time as well, including Sean Couturier, Jaden Schwartz, Quinton Howden, Ryan Johansen and Brett Connelly with Mark Visentin contending for a goalkeeping spot.
Canada is in Pool B with United States of America, Czech Republic, Denmark and Finland.
Canada will be hoping to win these games before they head out to cement a position in the medal round.
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