Team Canada Selects Four WHLers For Coaching and Management Staff Hlinka Gretzky Squad
The Kelowna Rockets, Kamloops Blazers, Red Deer Rebels, and Spokane Chiefs will represented behind the bench and in the management group for the U18 tournament.
Team Canada Selects Four WHLers For Coaching and Management Staff Hlinka Gretzky SquadFour members of the WHL were named to Team Canada's coaching and management staff for the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The annual tournament, which will take place in Edmonton, features some of the best U18 players from around the World. Canada will be looking to add their third straight Gold Medal at the event while increasing their total medal count to 28.
With head coach Kris Mallette (Kelowna) running the ship, the Canadian staff is rounded out by goaltending coach Dan De Palma (Kamloops), Athletic Therapist Terence Robertson (Red Deer), and Head Scout Byron Bonora (Spokane).
Mallette is a first-time head coach for this tournament; however, he was an assistant in the previous two runs to Gold behind Stephane Julien and Alan Letang. The Rockets bench boss will enter his sixth season as coach, taking his team to a second-round appearance in the 2024 WHL playoffs.
De Palma and Robertson also make their first appearances in the tournament. Da Palma won Gold at the World U18 Hockey Championship in 2024, while Robertson has had a successful career in his own right, clearing the 1000-game mark for his WHL career in 2023. As for Bonora, he is a former seven-year veteran scout for the Chiefs. He joined Hockey Canada as a scout in 2021 and looks to make it two Gold Medals in three months. Bonora was also part of the 2024 U18 World Championship roster in May.
Team Canada will make its selections during camp, which will be held July 27-30 in Calgary, Alberta. The action begins with the preliminary round on August 5 in Edmonton, Alberta.
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