Team Canada names Mike Babcock head coach, Tom Renney associate coach, and Mike Pelino, assistant coach.

 

Jim Nill, General Manager of Team Canada for the 2004 Men’s World Hockey Championship, named Mike Babcock Team Canada’s head coach on Suterday after announcing earlier in the day that Joel Quenneville was unable to continue as head coach. Renney will move to associate coach, while Mike Pelino will be brought in to take on the role of assistant coach of Team Canada.

 

Nill also announced that Quenneville was released from hospital on Saturday under doctor’s care, and will return home once medical clearance is received. He was taken to a Prague hospital on Friday for tests and evaluation, where he spent the night.

 

Babcock, head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Tom Renney, head coach of the New York Rangers, were both assistant coaches under Quenneville for the 2004 World Championship.

 

Mike Babcock just completed his second season as a head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In his first season as an NHL head coach, Babcock led Ducks to their first ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Babcock was Head Coach of Canada’s World Junior Team in 1997, leading the team to a gold medal.