Treliving, Spezza, Dubas named to Canada’s management group at 2026 IIHF World Championship
Hockey Canada has announced that Brad Treliving and Jason Spezza will serve on the management team group for the upcoming 2026 IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship, set to take place May 15-31 in Zürich and Fribourg, Switzerland.
Kyle Dubas and Scott Salmond will also serve in support roles, although Hockey Canada did not offer any other specifics.
“Brad brings invaluable experience from previous international events and the NHL, and Jason is a rising NHL executive that brings a wealth of experience as a player both professionally and internationally, and we are excited that these two will lead our team at the IIHF World Championship,” Salmond said in a statement. “Kyle’s experience from the previous two world championships, 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympics will provide consistency to our program, and while Kyle continues to prioritize the success of the Pittsburgh Penguins, we look forward to his support as Brad and Jason build a staff and roster that gives us the best chance to be successful in Switzerland.”
Treliving previously served as the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs before his firing late last month. Treliving has worked with Canada twice, starting in 2014 as assistant GM before winning gold in 2016.
Spezza will get his first taste with Hockey Canada in a managerial role after representing his country in four World Championships. He had 18 goals and 35 points over four years, winning silver in 2008 and 2009 and gold in 2015. That year, Spezza led the tournament with 14 points en route to being named top forward. He was also part of Canada’s Spengler Cup championship effort in 2012. Spezza currently acts as Pittsburgh’s assistant GM, with a focus on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Dubas is no stranger to Hockey Canada, having served as the director of player personnel at both the 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The Pittsburgh Penguins GM got his start as an assistant GM of Canada’s 2024 World Championship outfit before serving as GM for the 2025 event.
Canada’s coaching staff has yet to be finalized, while the roster isn’t expected until early May. Canada will kick off the tournament on May 15 against Sweden, then take on Italy, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Czechia in round-robin action.
Canada owns the record for both gold (28) and total medals (53), but have failed to medal in the past two tournaments. Canada won gold in 2021 and 2023, and silver in 2019 and 2022.