Looks like Mike Babcock will lead Canada into another major international competition.
Per TSN, Hockey Canada is expected to name Babcock head coach for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, with Joel Quenneville and Claude Julien as his assistants.
The decision doesn’t come as a huge surprise. The Toronto bench boss led Canada to gold at the past two Winter Olympics and has repeatedly expressed interest in returning to his post for the World Cup.
Also returning is Julien, who was behind the bench with Babcock in Sochi.
The lone change is Quenneville, replacing Ken Hitchcock as an assistant. The move might come as a slight surprise, given Hitchcock’s GM in St. Louis, Doug Armstrong, is Canada’s general manager for this tournament, but it’s hard to argue with Quenneville’s credentials.
The 57-year-old has won three Stanley Cups in Chicago and sits third all-time in coaching wins (761), trailing only Hall of Famers Scotty Bowman and Al Arbour.
Quenneville was also believed to be shortlisted for Canada’s head coaching gig.