Darren Burns named assistant coach of CIS All-Stars
CIS coaches announced for series vs. National Junior Team prospects
OTTAWA (CIS) β Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Tuesday its coaching staff for a two-game exhibition series between CIS menβs hockey all-stars and Canadaβs National Junior Team prospects in December.
The two-game set, which was announced last week, will take place at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET and Sunday, Dec. 13 at noon ET as part of the National Junior Teamβs preparation for the 40th IIHF World Junior Championship in Finland (Dec. 26 β Jan. 5).
Shawn Camp from the University of Guelph has been appointed head coach of the all-CIS squad. He will be accompanied behind the bench by assistant coaches representing all three CIS conferences, including Darren Burns from Acadia University, Brett Gibson from Queenβs University and Mike Sirant from the University of Manitoba.
Burns, who hails from Brockville, Ont., is in his 15th campaign in charge at Acadia. A three-time conference coach of the year and the 2005 recipient of the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award at the CIS level, he has guided his troops to a pair of AUS titles and was an assistant coach with the Universiade gold medal-winning squad in 2007 in Italy. The former Axemen captain was a member of two University Cup championship teams at Acadia, first as a player in 1993 and then as an assistant in 1996.
Coach Darren Burns said, “It’s truly an honour to get this opportunity in December. There is no question that the hard work and dedication of Acadia University, the coaching staff and players here over the past several years, has provided this opportunity for me. It will be a privilege to represent the CIS, AUS, and Acadia at this event. I believe the CIS committee and Hockey Canada have created a tremendous opportunity for all involved, not just this year, but for many years to follow. A lot of hard work and preparation has went into this, and they should be commended.”
Burns added, “Team CIS will need to focus on doing their best to win these two games with integrity and passion. It is important for the team to focus and help the Team Canada Juniors prepare for this prestigious tournament. We need to do everything we can to help our countries team prepare to win Gold in January.”Read more »