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WHL Spokane Chiefs

Ryan Smith Named as Team Canada's Assistant Coach at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship

April 11, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


Calgary, Alta. - Chiefs Head Coach Ryan Smith named as Team Canada's Assistant Coach at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship, April 25 through May 5 in Espoo and Vantaa, Finland.

Smith returns to Hockey Canada after serving as Team Canada's Head Coach for the Youth Olympic Games in South Korea this winter, where he coached current Chiefs prospects G Carter Esler and F Mathis Preston. In November 2022, Smith was an Assistant behind the bench for Team Canada Red at the U17 World Hockey Challenge, where he coached Chiefs' forward Berkly Catton and other WHL 2006-born players like Tij Iginla and Carson Wetsch and helped lead Canada Red to a silver medal.

Smith is coming off his second full season as the Chiefs' head coach. The team finished the regular season with a 30-32-5-1 record, doubling their wins from last season and working their way into the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

Canada opens the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship against Sweden on April 25 at Vantaa Trio Arena. It will also take on Czechia on April 26, Switzerland on April 28, and Kazakhstan on April 30 to round out the preliminary round before the tournament wraps up with the bronze and gold medal games on May 5 at Metro Arena.

Since 2002, Canada has won four gold medals at the IIHF U18 World Championship (2003, 2008, 2013, 2021), in addition to one silver (2005) and four bronze (2012, 2014, 2015, 2023).

For more information on the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship, please visit the official website.

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada's National Men's Under-18 Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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