It’s not much of a surprise, but Hockey Canada has officially named Dale Hunter head coach of the men’s U20 World Junior team for the 2020 tournament. Hunter, the head coach of the London Knights of the OHL joins his brother Mark Hunter who was named GM of the team in March. Andre Tourigny and Mitch Love will join Hunter on the bench as assistants. Canada also announced the coaching staff for the U18 team that will attend the 2019 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, naming Dan Lambert from the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL as head coach. Mario Duhamel and Dennis Williams will join Lambert as assistants.
Hunter had been rumored as the front runner for the job ever since his brother took control of the program, given how they already work together with the Knights in this capacity. He also has a long successful resume as a head coach, which includes a short time with the Washington Capitals and a gold medal coaching Team Canada at the Hlinka in 2014.
He will have plenty of experience beside him for the tournament, given that Tourigny has been an assistant at the World Juniors on three previous occasions. The Ottawa 67’s head coach also took home gold at the Hlinka last summer, while being named OHL Coach of the Year this season. He previously worked in the NHL as an assistant with both the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators, but has been back in the CHL since 2016.
Love was an assistant on Tourigny’s U18 staff last year, but has a shorter resume internationally. Still, he has been behind CHL bench for the better part of this decade and took over as head coach of the Saskatoon Blades this season.
The Canadian program will kick things off with the Summer Showcase in August.