NHL Hall of Famer Mark Messier will go behind the bench for the first time when he coaches Canada's teams at the 2010 Deutschland Cup and 2010 Spengler Cup.
Messier, a special assistant to the president of the New York Rangers, was GM of Canada's team at the 2010 World Championship.
"I am excited for this opportunity to coach Canada on the world stage," Messier said. "I have always taken pride in representing Canada at an international level as a player, and look forward to the challenges in front of us at the Deutschland Cup and Spengler Cup."
"Hockey Canada is thrilled that Mark Messier has agreed to step behind the bench," said Brad Pascall, vice-president of hockey operations/national teams for Hockey Canada. "With his tremendous hockey background and his leadership skills, we feel that Mark will be a great coach as we strive to continue Canada's winning tradition."
Messier's assistant coaches will be Rich Chernomaz, who coaches professionally in Germany, and Doug Shedden, who coaches in Switzerland. Both are former NHL players.
The Deutschland Cup will be held in Munich, Germany, from Nov. 12-14. Canada won the gold medal at its last appearance at the tournament, in 2008. Joining Canada at the event will be national teams from Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia.
The Spengler Cup will be held Dec. 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland, and feature five other European teams -- HC Davos (Swiss National League), SKA St. Petersburg (KHL), Spartak Moscow (KHL), Sparta Prague (Czech Elite League) and Servette Geneva (Swiss National League).