Mike Babcock's international resume includes coaching Canada to a world hockey title in 2004. (Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)

Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock will be named head coach of Canada's 2010 Olympic men's hockey team, and he'll be joined by an all-star lineup of assistants, according to several reports.

Ken Hitchcock, Lindy Ruff and Jacques Lemaire are expected to be named assistant coaches under Babcock when the coaching staff is officially announced Thursday.

Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman wouldn't confirm Babcock as his choice during a Tuesday conference call announcing Yzerman's selection to the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he did say the entire coaching staff will be revealed Thursday during a press conference in Montreal.

Babcock, 46, has been a frontrunner for the head coaching position due mostly to his success with the Wings — the team for which Yzerman played 22 seasons and now serves as vice-president and alternate governor.

He already has the support of The Great One, either way.

"Being in Detroit, such a great hockey city, he understands the scenario that [the players] are under," said Wayne Gretzky, who was speaking at an Olympic sponsorship event in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Iginla voices support for Babcock

Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla, who will likely be on the Team Canada roster for the 2010 Olympics, was also at the event and voiced his support for Babcock.

"He's been extremely successful through his career and also he's coached as a front-runner," Iginla said. "Detroit has four seasons of 50 wins-plus and Stanley Cup and everybody is chasing them down and I think that there's some similarities with coaching Canada.

"Everyone is always trying to knock them off, everyone is always trying to knock the Red Wings off, same with Canada, everyone wants to beat them and is gunning for them, so I think there is definitely some similarities there."

Babcock coached Detroit to the Stanley Cup title in 2008 and led the Red Wings to the final series this season before the team fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games.

He'll be looking to improve on Canada's worst-ever showing at the Olympics — a seventh-place finish in 2006.

Hitchcock, head coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, was assistant coach of the Canadian team that won gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

He also led Canada to a silver medal finish at the 2008 IIHF World Hockey Championship.

Ruff, who has coached the Buffalo Sabres since the 1997-98 season, served as head coach of the Canadian team that won silver at the World Championship this year.

Lemaire has coached more than 1,000 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild.

A Stanley Cup champion with the Devils in 1995, Lemaire stepped down as Wild head coach at the end of the season after the team missed the playoffs.

Hockey Canada was also expected to be looking at Barry Trotz (Nashville Predators) and Randy Carlyle (Ducks) for the assistant coach positions.

Rookie bench success

Detroit isn't the only city where Babcock has experienced success as a coach.

During his rookie season as bench boss of the Anaheim Ducks in 2002-03, Babcock led his squad to the Stanley Cup final, where the New Jersey Devils emerged victorious in seven games.

Babcock, who grew up in Saskatoon, has a career coaching record of 282-139-71.

He already has an impressive 58 post-season victories despite coaching in only six NHL seasons.

Since moving to Detroit, Babcock has guided the Wings to four consecutive 50 or more regular-season wins. He also coached Canada to the 2004 world championship title and the 1997 world junior crown.

With files from The Canadian Press