CALGARY – Hockey Canada announced last week that Ken Hitchcock of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets will be the head coach, when the Canadians play their first-ever World Championship on home ice. IIHF.com asked Hitchcock and Steve Yzerman, the general manager of the men’s national team, about the upcoming challenge and roster decisions.

Q for Yzerman: You are blessed with having many good Canadian coaches to choose from and why did you pick Ken Hitchcock as head coach? What made him stand out?

A: "Several things, actually. He has an extensive history with Hockey Canada and experience at a number of events, at the Olympics, at the World Cup of Hockey and at the National Junior level, along with winning a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars. This tournament has become an unofficial tradition in the last few years for Canada to use different people going forward from year to year and with Ken being available this year, it was a good opportunity to get him into the mix as head coach, give him his first opportunity. There are so many people to choose from, very successful and quality people and I thought with the opportunity being there to give Ken the chance to coach the team was the right decision."

Q for Yzerman: Based on your years in the NHL, what is it like to face a team coached by Hitchcock? What about those teams in Dallas when the Stars had success and won the Stanley Cup in 1999?

A: "They were hard-working teams and they played a very determined, physical and well-balanced game. The Dallas teams you faced were strong defensively but also very dynamic offensively. But the one thing I always respected about the team was they played with a real discipline; a defensive-minded discipline and a self-discipline. They did not just run around on the ice. I got to play against his best clubs and they were well-balanced teams that did not over-emphasize offense or defense."

Q for Yzerman: Will Wayne Gretzky be part of your staff?

A: "I do not foresee that. I had a chance to talk to Wayne in the last few weeks about his possible involvement and between his duties with the (Phoenix) Coyotes and other commitments and obligations it would be difficult for him to make a commitment to the program right now."

Q for Ken Hitchcock: Given your international experience, what do you anticipate coaching Canada on home soil?

A: "I really think there are a lot of similarities to the (2004) World Cup, We will have an awful lot of time to practice and we will be in our own time zone and we are playing on smaller ice surfaces so the game will be similar to the NHL game. I really feel it will be a lot like how the games in the World Cup were played and I am very familiar with that and I am familiar with the Canadian players.

"I think the other experience that you learn in international competitions is how passionately the other countries play. I think once they are able to wear their country's sweater, there is a whole new level of play and I think I have learned those lessons, starting in 2002 and moving forward, to have a clear understanding of what it takes to win at this level. With the difference in the game between this surface and the surface in Europe, I think the way we are going to play is a lot like in the National Hockey League. I feel comfortable in that atmosphere."

Q for Hitchcock: You have been involved in the Olympics and the World Cup where it is best on best. You won't necessarily have access to Canada's best players because teams will still be in the playoffs. What kind of team do you think you can build now with whoever is available and what kind of team do you want?

A: "I think the game is still speed and skill and I think the grittiness that is the North American game is based on the play in the National Hockey League and the surfaces we will play on will be paramount there too. The things we are looking for is we will play Canadian hockey, the way that we know how to play and I think it will fit well for the surface that we will play on. The way that the team was built in the last few years, I think is a great building block to look at. They had energy people at the end of the line-up and they had young players with skill at the front of the line-up and I think there is a great opportunity to put a great team on the ice right now and I think with it being in North America, and in Canada in particular, I think a lot of players will want to play."

"It is our playoffs now. Starting here at the end of April, these are our playoffs and I have found these competitions matter as much or more than the NHL playoffs do. I think you will find a lot of players who will come on board because they want to be part of this and we have a bit of a blueprint from '02 (i.e. Canada's gold medal winning Olympic team) moving forward. We have a blueprint that we all know about and it has had great success and that is the one people want to follow."

Q for Yzerman: Have you started the process of contacting players from teams already eliminated from the NHL playoffs?

A: "Yes we have. As teams have been eliminated, we have talked to a few players and a few general managers to gauge players' interest and finding about their health and potential availability. We have contacted a few guys and are waiting to hear about their availability.

Q for Yzerman: How about Vince Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lighting?

A: " I have left a couple of messages and I hope to hear back. I am aware he has a wrist injury and I am waiting to hear back on his condition and his availability."

Q for Yzerman: How about Shane Doan, especially in light of how he was treated last year (the anti-French comments alleged by a Canadian politician). Do you think that issue will have any impact on his participation?

A: "I have not asked him if he intends to play or wants to play. I will call him and knowing his character. If he wants to play, he will not let that stand in his way. It was proven last year that the attention brought on the situation was far greater than what it deserved. I supported him fully and (Hockey Canada president) Bob Nicholson supported him fully and a majority of Canadians supported him fully. I should not speak for Shane but I do not think that is a reason for him not to go."

Q for Hitchcock: What about the pressure about representing your country, especially when the '08 world tournament is also a qualifying event for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver?

A: "I think the pressure goes with the expectation level and the expectation level in Canada has always been gold or bust and I think everybody understands that going in. And I think we have all learned not only to live in that atmosphere, at every level, and over the past 10 years probably thrive it in. I think we all know where that is and not only the coaches but the players and management look forward to that. We look forward to being the best and regardless of what level it is at, it is a measuring stick for us. Our pride in our game, in our program is very strong and we take these competitions very personally and it is a really important event. It is much more magnified because it is in Canada this year."

Q for Yzerman: In your mind, what is the obligation or is there an obligation of a Canadian NHL player to play if he is healthy and available? Is playing purely optional and is there any connection to future Olympic teams? Or it is if they want to play, they can play.

A: "I think every player has somewhat of an obligation to go if he is available. Everybody's situation is different and it could be as simple that because the tournament is at the end of the season, it is injury, contract status and even something as simple as frame of mind. Sometimes it is just not right and as much as we would like to say you have to play in this event, being a former player who has been through it, there are so many different circumstances on why a player may not want to go or may not be right. You can't force a player to go.

"It is our hope the majority of players want to go and look forward to it. I learned through last year that if a guy isn't in to, if for whatever reason he is not mentally ready to go, then it is best to go in a different direction. I do not want to speak for Hockey Canada on the Olympic program but for a player to go and play, everybody is watching and it is a chance to prove yourself in the international game. It will only benefit you if it is your desire to play on the Olympic team. The guy who comes to mind is Ryan Smyth or Kris Draper or Kirk Maltby who went over and played and later in their careers they got a chance to play in the Olympics.

"I can't sit here and say if a guy does not go to the World Championships that he is not a candidate for the Olympic team. But for a lot of players it is a great chance to show what kind of a player and teammate they are. There are so many positives.

Hitchcock on the same topic: "I think the one thing you learn is for a player that it is completely different when you represent your country. I think the experience for the player to be able to do this, if you have any aspirations to play in the Olympics, I think this is an important event. There are so many different dynamics that differ from playing for your NHL club. It is the dynamics of coming together quickly, of playing against teams from different countries and different styles every second night and having to adjust. I think the experience really helps you understand what it is like to play in the Olympic and the World Cup because this is completely different. You are dealing with a new team every second day and in then middle of this you are trying to come together as a team. For a player to go through this, it is a whole different dynamic than just playing for your NHL team. There are players who can do this and do it well and there are players who struggle with this."

Q for Yzerman: Is there a balance between the number of older veterans and the number of kids? Do you have a ratio in mind?

A: "I do not personally but I think it is important to have a balance. We want to take the best players but we do not have a direct ratio. I think it is important to have veteran leadership and we witnessed that last year with Shane Doan and Eric Brewer and Dwayne Roloson. And we had great kids and the atmosphere was positive in the room. We will try to accomplish that this year and have people in the right role and in a role they are comfortable with."

Q for Yzerman: You have more time this year between the end of the NHL season and when the World Championship starts. That said, when do you expect to start naming your roster?

A: "I know the extra week we have before the tournament starts will potentially bring in more players (from the NHL playoffs). And we are finding that it is complicating our planning a little bit because players are becoming available at different stages and different times. We are doing a little juggling act. Do we fill up positions or do we fill up the roster and how many spots do we keep open as players become available in a week or two?

"We have been talking about a lot of players and we will really zero in on it over the next 10 days. We can come up with kind of a ghost roster that changes a day later. From the players we know are available, we are trying to find out their own situation, whether they are available, whether they are healthy and are they interested in playing."

Q for Yzerman: Do you feel any attachment to the players who won gold last year?

A: "Yes I do. I feel a great attachment to everyone who was over there, the coaches and all the players, and I will weight that in every decision I will make. The only way I will change a player from last year's roster is we have an obligation to put the best team out there and if there is a player that is better in the role that we foresee for him, we will make a change."

Q for Hitchcock: The host team has not won the world title since '86. Can you comment on that.

A: "I did not know that, and I don't want to know. To me this is a lot like the World Cup. There is a lot of similarities in those competitions and I think we know there will be pressure and stress on everybody and we have to learn to embrace it. The key thing is not to get overwhelmed by it, and if you embrace the pressure that goes with playing at home and high expectations, then you can feed of that energy. If you are overwhelmed by it, it hurts you.

"And that was one of the things that as a coaching staff we did not pay enough attention to in '06 (i.e. the Turin Olympics when Canada finished seventh). We did not come clear with enough was the awesome responsibility we knew the player had in '06 compared to '02. They were trying to defend a medal that they had not won and they felt that pressure and I do not think we did a good enough job in reading that and taking the pressure off of them. I think the players have enough pressure on them already and it is our job to keep it off them."

ALAN ADAMS