Todd McLellan named Team Canada coach for men's world hockey championship

Todd McLellan will be coaching during the Stanley Cup playoffs, even though his San Jose Sharks didn't gain a post-season berth.

Hockey Canada named the 47-year-old its head coach for the upcoming men's world hockey championship in the Czech Republic.

McLellan, who has guided San Jose to three division championships in his seven seasons on the bench, was an assistant coach with Canada when it won bronze at the 2000 world juniors.

Joining McLellan on the bench in Prague and Ostrava will be Jay Woodcroft, his assistant in San Jose, former New Jersey Devils coach Pete DeBoer and Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters.

Last week, the Canadian management team was announced, with Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill taking the same post with Canada.

"This is a coaching staff with extensive experience in the NHL and knowledge of the international game," said Nill in a statement released by Hockey Canada.

Prior to joining the Sharks, McLellan was an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings for three seasons and helped them win the 2008 Stanley Cup.

In 2003, he won a Calder Cup championship behind the bench with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League. McLellan's junior hockey background included a seven-year stint with Swift Current of the Western Hockey League, where he was named coach of the year in 2000.

Following in McLellan's footsteps

Woodcroft has spent the past five seasons on the bench with McLellan in San Jose. And like McLellan, the 38-year-old worked previously with the Detroit Red Wings as an assistant coach from 2005-08, winning the Cup in his final season.

DeBoer, 46, was also an assistant with the Canadian team at last year's world tourney in Minsk, Belarus, where they fell 3-2 to Finland in the quarter-finals after going 5-1-1 in the preliminary round.

Before becoming head coach of the Florida Panthers in 2008, DeBoer spent 14 seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, winning league championships with Kitchener (2003, 2008) and the 2003 Memorial Cup. He was also an assistant with Canada's national junior team in 1998 and 2005.

The 50-year-old Peters is fresh off his first season coaching the Hurricanes, who were 26th in the 30-team league with a 30-41-11 record. A former assistant in Detroit, he also coached the Spokane Chiefs to a WHL championship and Memorial Cup title in 2008. That same year, Peters was coach of Canada's under-18 squad that won gold at Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

Canada can register up to 25 players, including three goalies, on its roster comprised of players not involved in the NHL playoffs.

The tournament begins May 1 with the Canadians facing Latvia at 10:15 a.m. ET.