Lowry to coach the U-18's in the summer

Press Release

CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced on Wednesday that Dave Lowry will be head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Team for the 2009 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka in August 2009. Canada enters the tournament as defending champion, with this year’s event being held in Czech Republic and Slovakia from August 11-15.

Dave Lowry will be making his international coaching debut this summer, after leading the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen to a 59-9-3-1 regular-season record and a spot in the WHL final. The native of Sudbury, Ont. has just completed his fourth season with Calgary, first as the team’s head coach. Lowry, 44, played over 1,000 games in the NHL with five franchises, serving as the Calgary Flames’ captain from 2000 to 2002.

Assistant coaches Chris DePiero (head coach and general manager of OHL’s Oshawa Generals) and Mark Holick (head coach of WHL’s Kootenay Ice) round out the coaching staff of Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team.

DePiero has just completed his first season as head coach and general manager with Oshawa after serving as head coach for the St. Michael’s Buzzers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League for seven years, winning two league championships and twice being named the league’s coach of the year.

Holick has been the head coach in Kootenay for two seasons after successful head coaching stints with the British Columbia Hockey League’s Vernon Vipers in 2006-07 and with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Spruce Grove Saints from 2003-06. The native of Penticton, B.C. led Team Pacific to a silver medal at the 2004 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Hockey Canada also announced that former NHLer Ron Tugnutt will be joining the under-18 coaching staff as a goaltending consultant. A veteran of over 500 NHL games, Tugnutt served in this capacity with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2009 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

“The under-18 program is an integral part of Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence,” said Brad Pascall, Hockey Canada’s senior director of national men’s teams. “We are extremely excited with the quality of coaches that we have named today for our summer under-18 program. Led by head coach Dave Lowry, we know that this year’s under-18 team will be well prepared and that our coaches will play important roles in developing Canada’s top young players.”

Hockey Canada will announce plans for the National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp at a later date.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)