Kisio named head coach for Canadian U18 team

Hockey Canada announced that Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio will lead Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team.

Kisio will take over for Paul McFarland, who has accepted an assistant coaching position with the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers.

Kisio, entering his third season with the Hurricanes, was originally slated to work as an assistant coach under McFarland for the National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp and 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. His experience with the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence includes as head coach of Team Canada White at the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and winning a silver medal as an assistant coach with Team Pacific at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

With Kisio taking the reins behind the bench, Hockey Canada has added Drew Bannister (Sudbury, Ont./Sault Ste. Marie, OHL) as an assistant coach for this summer’s U18 group.

In the coming weeks, 44 players vie for a spot on Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team during a week-long selection camp.

A 22-player roster will be selected to compete at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup in August, leaving directly from camp to represent Canada at the storied tournament hosted in the Czech Republic and Slovakia this year.

Hockey Canada’s scouting staff will continue to monitor players following their return to their home clubs, with an eye for putting together the best team to compete at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship in Russia next spring.