NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



 Everett Silvertips

Silvertips GM/HC Dennis Williams Named Head Coach for Hockey Canada '23 World Juniors

November 9, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Everett Silvertips News Release


Everett Silvertips GM/Head Coach Dennis Williams
Everett Silvertips GM/Head Coach Dennis Williams
(Everett Silvertips, Credit: Chris Mast)

CALGARY, Alta. -- Everett Silvertips general manager and head coach Dennis Williams has officially been named the head coach of Hockey Canada's 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship team.

Williams has a bevy of experience coaching with Hockey Canada, including winning a gold medal at the 2022 World Junior Championship as an assistant coach in August. He also has won a silver medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2019 as an assistant coach for Hockey Canada's U18 team, and served as head coach of Canada Black at the 2018 U-17 World Hockey Challenge.

In his sixth season behind the bench of the Silvertips, he recently earned his 200th career victory behind the bench of the Silvertips on Oct. 12. He is the winningest coach in the Western Hockey League since taking over in 2017-18. He has twice won Western Conference Coach of the Year (2017-18, 2019-20) and once won U.S. Division Coach of the Year (2021-22). Under his leadership, the Silvertips have won four U.S. Division titles, three Western Conference regular season title and one Western Conference championship (2017-18).

From Hockey Canada's official release:

[Williams] will be joined by assistant coaches Stéphane Julien (Shawinigan, Que./Sherbrooke, QMJHL), Brent Kisio (Calgary, Alta./Lethbridge, WHL) and Alan Letang (Renfrew, Ont./Sarnia, OHL), as well as goaltending consultant Kelly Guard (Prince Albert, Sask./Prince Albert, WHL) and video coach James Emery (Calgary, Alta.).

The coaching staff was selected by Alan Millar (Tottenham, Ont.), director of player personnel, James Boyd (Midland, Ont./Ottawa, OHL), who returns as the U20 lead for the Program of Excellence management group after helping assemble the team that won gold at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, and Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of hockey operations.

"We are thrilled to welcome back Dennis and James following a gold medal at the 2022 World Juniors to help bring momentum and consistency from our success in the summer," said Millar.

"We are also excited to welcome Stéphane, Brent, Alan, Kelly and James, as each coach brings a wealth of experience and success from the Canadian Hockey League and international levels.

We believe we have assembled a world-class coaching staff that will play a large part in defending our gold medal on the East Coast starting next month."

"The coaching and support staff for Canada's National Junior Team is a well-rounded, experienced group that have been integral to the recent success of Hockey Canada's national teams," said Salmond. "We know these individuals will play a major role in the success of our team at the World Juniors as we look forward to the opportunity to once again compete for a gold medal on home ice in Halifax and Moncton."

Canada's National Junior Team will gather at the Avenir Centre in Moncton for a four-day selection camp, Dec. 9-12, before selecting a final roster ahead of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. The selection camp roster will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information on Hockey Canada and the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.





Images from this story

Everett Silvertips GM/Head Coach Dennis Williams
Everett Silvertips GM/Head Coach Dennis Williams

(Chris Mast)
  

• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...

Western Hockey League Stories from November 9, 2022


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central