Hockey Canada names management group for 2021 IIHF World Championship

CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada has appointed Roberto Luongo (Montreal, Que./Florida, NHL) general manager of Canada’s National Men’s Team for the 2021 IIHF World Championship, May 21-June 6 in Riga, Latvia.

As general manager, Luongo will oversee and lead all hockey operations, including staff and player selection and evaluation as Canada looks to win its first gold medal since 2016. Joining Luongo on the management group will be Shane Doan (Halkirk, Alta.) and Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior-vice-president of national teams with Hockey Canada.

With the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China less than one year away, the 2021 IIHF World Championship will serve as an important step in the evaluation and preparation process, should NHL players participate, as both Luongo and Salmond were recently named to the Olympic management group.

“Hockey Canada is excited to have Roberto lead our management group at the IIHF World Championship this year, and to continue to work with our entire Olympic management team as we continue to prepare for the 2022 Olympics,” said Tom Renney, chief executive officer of Hockey Canada. “We are also fortunate to have Shane and Scott contribute as assistant general managers; both individuals bring a wealth of experience to Canada’s National Men’s Team. Roberto, Shane and Scott bring a strong combination of NHL and international experience, both on and off the ice, and they will complement each other as we work towards building a team that can compete for a gold medal.”

Luongo will make his international management debut at the 2021 IIHF World Championship. As a player, he represented Canada in four IIHF World Championships, winning two gold medals (2003, 2004) and one silver (2005), along with a World Cup of Hockey championship in 2004. Luongo is one of only three goaltenders in NHL history to play more than 1,000 games, finishing with 1,044 over a 19-year career. He was twice named to the NHL Second All-Star Team (2003-04, 2006-07), won the William M. Jennings Trophy in 2010-11 and ranks third all-time in wins (489). Luongo was recently named assistant general manager for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, where he will lead all goaltender evaluation. He is no stranger to the Olympics, tending goal for Team Canada eight times across three Games (2006, 2010, 2014), winning gold in his final two appearances.

Doan most recently worked with the Team Canada management group at the the 2019 Spengler Cup, winning the championship, and was a consultant at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, winning a silver medal. As a player, he represented Canada six times at the IIHF World Championship (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009), where he won two gold medals (2003, 2007) and three silver (2005, 2008, 2009). Doan also won the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and wore the Maple Leaf at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. He played 21 seasons (1995-2017) with the Winnipeg Jets and Arizona Coyotes, and is the all-time franchise leader in goals (395), assists (560) and points (955).

Salmond was recently named to the management group for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, where he will serve as an assistant general manager. He was promoted to senior vice-president of national teams with Hockey Canada in 2018 after serving as vice-president of national teams for four years. In this position, Salmond oversees all operations for Canada’s men’s, women’s and para hockey teams. He has helped lead Canada to gold medals at two Olympic Winter Games (2010, 2014), four IIHF World Championships (2003, 2004, 2015, 2016), five IIHF World Junior Championships (2007, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2018), one IIHF U18 World Championship (2013), one IPC World Para Hockey Championship (2017) and one Paralympic Winter Games (2006), as well as a World Cup of Hockey championship (2016) and a Spengler Cup three-peat (2015, 2016, 2017).

Canada opens the 2021 IIHF World Championship on Friday, May 21 at Arena Riga against host Latvia with preliminary-round games through Tuesday, June 1. Canada will also face Italy, Finland, Germany, Kazakhstan, Norway and the United States in the preliminary round before the tournament wraps up with the bronze and gold medal games on Sunday, June 6.

Since 1931, Canada has won the world championship 20 times – not counting the years when Olympic Winter Games gold medallists were also considered world champions. Canada has also collected 13 silver medals and seven bronze.

For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook and Twitter.