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Blake to serve as GM
Blake to serve as GM
Canada names management group for Worlds
Rob Blake (right) at the Triple Gold Club induction during the 2010 Olympics with (from left to right) Vladislav Tretiak, Rene Fasel and Gary Bettman. Photo: Matthew Manor / HHOF-IIHF Images
Blake will lead a management group comprised of Ron Hextall (Philadelphia Flyers), Hockey Canada’s vice-president of hockey operations Brad Pascall and Brad Treliving (Phoenix Coyotes), who will serve as assistant general managers.
Blake also announced that former NHL defenceman and Team Canada alumnus Steve Staios (Toronto Maple Leafs) will be the team’s director of player development, assisting the management group and coaching staff on ice, in addition to working on player development, evaluation and recruitment. Staios represented Canada on four occasions at the IIHF World Championship, winning gold in 2003 and 2004, and earning silver on home ice in Quebec City, Que., in 2008.
Canada’s coaching staff for the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will be announced at a later date.
Rob Blake, 44, is in his first season as assistant general manager of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, after three seasons in the NHL’s player safety department. Blake assists Los Angeles general manager Dean Lombardi in all facets of hockey operations, including contract negotiations, player personnel and overseeing the organization’s top prospects, while also serving as general manager of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. The native of Simcoe, Ont., also served as assistant general manager for Canada at the 2011 IIHF World Championship, under general manager Dave Nonis. As a player, Blake represented Canada on numerous occasions, appearing in 58 games over nine events, including winning gold medals at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, 1997 IIHF World Championship and 1994 IIHF World Championship. Over the course of a 20-year NHL career, he appeared in 1,270 regular season games, amassing 777 points (240 goals, 537 assists), winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, and the James Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman in 1998.
Continue readingRon Hextall, 49, joined the Philadelphia Flyers as assistant general manager and director of hockey operations this season, after seven seasons as the vice-president and assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings. During his tenure in Los Angeles, the native of Brandon, Man., helped the team capture the Stanley Cup in 2012. A goaltender during his playing career, he appeared in 608 games, amassing 296 wins, and helped Philadelphia reach the Stanley Cup Final as a rookie in 1987. Internationally, Hextall represented Canada at the 1992 IIHF World Championship.
Brad Pascall, 43, has been with Hockey Canada since 1999, serving in his current position of vice-president of hockey operations and national teams since July 2010. In this position, the native of Coquitlam, B.C., oversees all operations of Canada’s national men’s teams for the Olympic Winter Games, IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, IIHF World Junior Championship and IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship, as well as the sledge hockey program at the Paralympic Winter Games and IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship. Pascall was a member of the 2014 Men’s Olympic Team management group, which won gold in Sochi this past February. Prior to working in hockey operations at Hockey Canada, Pascall was the senior director of communications from 1998 to 2008.
Brad Treliving, 44, is in his seventh season as assistant general manager of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, working closely with general manager Don Maloney on the day-to-day administration of the team’s hockey operations. He also serves as general manager of the Coyotes’ top affiliate, the AHL’s Portland Pirates. Prior to joining Phoenix, Treliving served as president of the Central Hockey League for seven years. Prior to his front office career, the native of Penticton, B.C., played five seasons of professional hockey from 1990-95, with time in both the American Hockey League and International Hockey League. This season, Treliving also served as assistant general manager with Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2013 Spengler Cup.
Canada opens the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship against France on Friday, May 9. It will also face the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Slovakia and Sweden in preliminary round play.
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