Chris Chelios, Danton Cole named assistant coaches for U.S. World Junior team

By @MichaelCaples –

USA Hockey just announced the assistant coaches for the upcoming World Juniors, and the list has some big-time Michigan names.

Former Red Wings great Chris Chelios will be on the bench for Team USA when they compete at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland. He will be joined by Pontiac native and NTDP head coach Danton Cole, as well.

Former NHL head coach Ron Wilson will be leading the American squad.

It was also announced that Kelly Miller (Lansing) and Doug Weight (Warren) will serve as guest coaches at the 2015 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp, which will take place in Lake Placid, New York, August 1-8. Miller is currently an assistant coach with Michigan State, while Weight is an assistant coach with the New York Islanders.

Chelios, rumored to be a candidate for one of the Red Wings’ open assistant coach positions, is currently an advisor to hockey operations for Detroit. He has been with the Wings’ front office for the last five years, after concluding a hall-of-fame career with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Red Wings and Atlanta Thrashers.

The Chicago native has represented Team USA on the international stage on 10 different occasions, including four Olympic Winter Games.

Cole, meanwhile, is entering his sixth season as a head coach with the National Team Development Program. He has led Team USA to a pair of gold medals at the IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship. A Michigan State alum, Cole played in seven NHL seasons, capturing a Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 1995.