CALGARY, Alta. – IIHF Hall of Famer and Order of Hockey in Canada Distinguished Honouree Dave King is returning to a familiar role as Team Canada bench boss at the 2016 Deutschland Cup.

Hockey Canada and its general manager for the Deutschland Cup, Sean Burke (Windsor, Ont.), announced King’s selection as Canada’s National Men’s Team head coach on Friday. King (Saskatoon, Sask.) will lead the coaching staff which also comprises assistant coaches Mike Pelino (Welland, Ont.), Luke Richardson (Ottawa), and Mike Stewart (Calgary).

“Dave has a long and rich history coaching our National Men’s Team in a variety of tournaments and competitions, and it’s great to have him back with Team Canada,” said Burke. “Mike Pelino and Mike Stewart have held coaching roles for us in past Deutschland Cup appearances, and bring an active understanding of the players we’ll be tapping into and playing against. And it’s always great to bring in former Team Canada players who have moved into coaching; we think this will be a great experience for Luke, and he’ll add a lot to our staff.”

King ’s international coaching career got its start in 1982 with two medals – a gold at the 1982 IIHF World Junior Championship, and bronze at the 1982 IIHF World Championship. He followed that up with a bronze medal at the 1983 IIHF World Junior Championship before becoming Team Canada’s head coach in 1983-84 – a role he held until 1992-93 when he accepted an NHL head coaching role with the Calgary Flames. King won a silver medal for Canada at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games, and his last role behind the Team Canada bench came at the 1999 IIHF World Championship. King has held a variety of roles in the NHL, SHL, and KHL since 1992, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame Builder category in 2000-2001.

Pelino won gold for Canada as assistant coach at the 1997 IIHF World Junior Championship, 2002 Olympic Winter Games, and IIHF World Championship in 2003 and 2004, and was head coach at the 2002 IIHF U18 World Championship and 2002 Spengler Cup (won gold). He was the assistant general manager of Canada’s 2002 Deutschland Cup team, and led his KHL Metallurg Magnitogorsk team to victory at the 2013-14 and 2015-16 Gagarin Cup as assistant coach. His career includes coaching roles with the WHL Spokane Chiefs, OHL Peterborough Petes, AHL San Antonio Rampage, and NHL New York Rangers and Florida Panthers.

Richardson represented Canada as a player on the 1987 IIHF World Junior Championship team, and won gold and silver medals playing for Canada at the 1994 IIHF World Championship and 1996 IIHF World Championship respectively. Richardson transitioned from playing in the NHL to coaching in the NHL during the 2008-09 season when he was brought in mid-season as assistant coach. His playing career counts 21 seasons in the NHL, having suited up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Ottawa Senators. After four seasons as Ottawa’s assistant coach, Richardson accepted the head coaching role with the Binghamton Senators of the AHL.

Stewart , who holds dual Canadian and Austrian citizenship, was assistant coach at Canada’s last appearance at the Deutschland Cup in 2014. He has played for both Team Canada (1996-97), and Team Austria, having won a gold medal for Austria at the 2006 IIHF World Championship Division 1 (B). Stewart is head coach of Augsburger Panther (DEL) for a second consecutive season, having moved there after three seasons as head coach of the Fischtown Pinguins (DEL2).

Canada will tap into its top Canadian talent playing in Europe to field its team. This will be the red-and-white’s first appearance at the Deutschland Cup since 2014.

Canada has taken part in the tournament on 17 occasions (1992-2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014), winning four gold medals (2000, 2002, 2005, 2008).

Canada’s National Men’s Team opens the Deutschland Cup, being hosted in Augsburg, Germany, on Nov. 4 against Switzerland; the team plays Slovakia on Nov. 5, and Germany on Nov. 6.

For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Team and the Deutschland Cup, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.