Stanley Cup Winning Armstrong Appointed as Canada’s General Manager for Upcoming World Ice Hockey Championship
Hockey Canada has appointed Doug Armstrong, as the general manager for the upcoming World Ice Hockey Championship. Armstrong, the current manager of the NHL outfit St. Louis Blues, will lead the national men’s team to the Latvian capital Riga, and the Finnish city of Tampere, from the 12th to the 28th of May.
The highly decorated 58-year-old has a stellar reputation in the world of hockey in Canada – being a part of the management group that won Olympic gold in Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014) and led Canada to Hockey World Cup titles in 2007 and 2016. Currently, in his 13th season with the St. Louis Blues, Armstrong has the distinction of leading the team to their first-ever Stanley Cup title in 2019 as general manager.
Armstrong was set to serve as the general manager of the men’s national team for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, conditional to the participation of NHL players – a deal that ultimately fell through due to COVID-19 concerns.
This year’s management group is set to be supported by Steve Yzerman and Shane Doan as associate general managers, Scott Salmond and Tyler Dietrich as Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations respectively, and a selection committee featuring NHL executives Jim McKenzie, Jamie Pushor, and Tim Taylor.
Similar to Armstrong, the management group as a whole has a rich tapestry of success with the Canadian national team.
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Yzerman won Olympic gold medals in Vancouver and Sochi as the Executive Director of the men’s national team and a Hockey World Cup title in 2007 as general manager. As a player, the Ottawa native won Olympic gold in 2002.
Doan captured gold and silver as general manager at the 2021 and 2022 Hockey World Cups respectively, finding no luck at the 2022 Spengler Cup – with Canada exiting the tournament with a disappointing winless record. He replaced Armstrong as the general manager of the men’s national team at the 2022 Olympics, after the NHL chose to withdraw.
As a player, Doan participated in six world championships for the national team, winning gold thrice and silver on two occasions.
Upon unveiling the management group, Salmond stated that “We are fortunate to have six individuals with extensive pedigrees who are dedicated to helping us build towards our goal of winning a gold medal in Tampere and Riga” adding that “Doug, Steve, and Shane have been successful in the NHL, the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cups – Jim, Jamie, and Tim bring critical NHL experience.”
Canada opens the tournament on the 12th of May, against co-hosts Latvia.
