Hockey Canada named André Tourigny its coach for the upcoming IIHF World Championship in Czechia next month.
Tourigny accepted the assignment amid a chaotic and hectic stretch that saw him suddenly switch NHL cities. He had been coaching the Arizona Coyotes for the past three seasons, but earlier this month, the NHL’s board of governors approved a plan that would see all of Arizona’s hockey-related personnel move to Utah for the upcoming season.
Tourigny will be joined by assistant coaches Dean Evason, Jay Woodcroft and Steve Ott for the tournament.
When asked by The Athletic if he considered passing on this opportunity given the tumultuous state of things on the NHL side, Tourigny said he simply jumped on the invitation from Team Canada without any hesitation.
“They asked me if I wanted to think about it. And my answer was, ‘I’ve thought about it. I’m in,’” Tourigny said. “It’s such a privilege and an honor to be the national coach of your team. Every time I have a chance to be in an environment where I have a chance to win, a chance to compete for a championship, you don’t pass on that.”
GO DEEPER
Mammoth? Yetis? Ranking 8 possible names for Utah NHL’s team
The 49-year-old Tourigny guided Canada to a gold medal as the coach in last year’s event staged in Tampere, Finland. Team Canada captured gold with a 5-2 win over Germany, capping off a run in which they outscored their opposition 13-4 in the knockout stage.
“Last year was the proof for me that commitment is stronger than anything else,” Tourigny said. “We’re extremely proud of that team, extremely proud of the leadership and the way we played in that tournament. We want to build on that and carry on.”
Last year’s roster for Team Canada included a handful of solid NHL players such as Mackenzie Weegar, Tyler Toffoli and Scott Laughton, but did not include any legitimate superstar power. That is expected to change for this year’s tournament, considering it could be an opportunity for players to get on the radar for upcoming best-on-best tournaments such as the 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics. Team USA’s initial roster of 15 players for next month’s IIHF event includes bigger names like Johnny Gaudreau, Dylan Larkin, Brady Tkachuk, Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras and Zach Werenski.
It’s expected Team Canada’s roster could feature a handful of prominent young stars who are hoping to use the event to springboard their way into roles for those upcoming tournaments.
“For Canada, there’s a lot of good players and at some point, there will be a really tough decision to make for the 4 Nations and the Olympics,” said Tourigny. “It’s not my job as coach to pick the team, but we believe that when a player has familiarity with the program, it helps down the road. It can help create a familiarity and that can be an advantage down the road.”
In his three seasons as head coach of the Coyotes, Tourigny has compiled an 89-131-36 record in 246 games for a .415 points percentage. But the club has improved its win total in each season under Tourigny’s guidance and finished the 2023-24 NHL campaign with 36 wins and a .470 points percentage.
Required reading
(Photo: Chris Gardner / Getty Images)
