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OHL Saginaw Spirit

Chris Lazary Named Assistant Coach at 2025 World Junior Championship

July 4, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Calgary, AB - Hockey Canada announced Thursday afternoon that Chris Lazary will serve as an assistant coach for the National Junior Team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. Lazary becomes the first coach in Spirit history to step behind the bench of a World Junior squad. He and the rest of the Canadian coaching staff will head to Ottawa, Ont. for the tournament's 49th occurrence from December 26th, 2024, to January 5th, 2025.

"I'm incredibly honored," said Lazary. "It's every hockey player and coach's dream to represent their country at the World Juniors. This is another dream come true in a year where there have been quite a few."

Lazary is just one month removed from leading the Spirit to the first Memorial Cup Championship in team history. Saginaw enjoyed a team-best regular season that led to their second-ever appearance in the Western Conference Final. Both Conference Final appearances in team history have come with Lazary behind the Spirit bench.

The 2024-2025 season will be Lazary's ninth with the Spirit organization. The Whitby, Ont. native arrived in Saginaw as an associate coach in 2016, following two years in an assistant role with the Sarnia Sting. Lazary became the tenth head coach in Spirit history on November 18th, 2018, turning a .500 team into West Division champions and making a run to the Western Conference Final.

This past season, Lazary continued etching his name into the team's history books. He became the winningest head coach in Spirit history with his 155th on December 16th, 2023 against Sudbury. The 2023-2024 Saginaw Spirit became the first 50-win squad in team history, and Lazary currently sits at 185 victories on his career. The team's West Division title in 2024 became the fourth in team history, three of which coming with Lazary at the helm (2011, 2019, 2020, 2024).

Lazary was the head coach of Team Canada Red during the 2020 U17 World Hockey Challenge, which shifted to online information sessions when the tournament was cancelled as a result of COVID-19. His coaching career began with two seasons as an assistant coach with the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). In 2012-13, he served as an assistant coach with York University. The following season saw Lazary lead the Waterloo Siskins of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) to a Cherrey Cup Championship.

The first step for Canada's National Junior Team will be a four-day training camp from July 28-31 at the WFCU Center in Windsor. Canada's camp will end with a scrimmage against Sweden on July 31.

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