Tuesday . . .

Willie Desjardins, the general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers, will be named head coach of the Canadian national team at a news conference today in Calgary, according to the Medicine Hat News and Regina Leader-Post.
Both newspapers broke the news Tuesday night, using information gained from anonymous sources.
Desjardins, an assistant on last year’s gold-medal winning team, could not be reached for comment. The 52-year-old Desjardins has been the GM/head coach in Medicine Hat for seven seasons.
Pat Quinn, the former Olympic team and NHL coach, coached the 2009 championship team, taking over the post after Benoit Groulx left the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques to become head coach of the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
Dave Cameron, head coach of the OHL’s Mississauga-St. Michael’s Majors, is expected to stay on as an assistant coach, while Steve Spott, the head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, will be the other assistant.
The 2010 world junior championship opens Dec. 26 in Regina and Saskatoon.
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The Drummondville Voltigeurs booked a spot in the Memorial Cup on Tuesday with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Shawinigan Cataractes in Game 7 of the QMJHL final. Drummondville got two goals from Yannick Riendeau and 45 saves from G Marco Cousineau. . . . The Voltigeurs join the WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets, the OHL-champion Windsor Spitfires and the host Rimouski Oceanic in the Memorial Cup. It opens Friday with a game between the Rockets and Oceanic.
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The Tri-City Americans will have a familiar face serving as their athletic therapist and equipment manager next season. Innes Mackie, who worked for the Portland Winterhawks since 1976, will join the Americans on a full-time basis on Aug. 1. Mackie lost his job in Portland when the Winterhawks went through an ownership change early in 2008-09.
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JUST NOTES: The NAHL has added a team in Janesville, Wisc., for 2009-10. One of the junior A team’s owners is San Jose Sharks forward Joe Pavelski, who is from Stevens Point, Wisc. . . . Former WHLer Dwight Mullins is the first GM and head coach of the Allen, Texas, Americans, the newest Central Hockey League franchise.
And now for something completely different. . . . If you haven‚t seen the video of Wanda Sykes at the White House Correspondents‚ Association dinner, well, hunt it up and invest 15 minutes of your time in it. It is hilarious. . . . You can find it right here.
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A press release involving the Memorial Cup opener . . .
RIMOUSKI — The Rimouski Oceanic in association with the Canadian Hockey League announced Tuesday that a special designed commemorative jersey will be worn by the Oceanic hockey club during the opening game of the 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup in honour of the Canadian Forces. The game is scheduled for Friday, 7 p.m., against the WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets and will be televised live on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS.
All commemorative game issued and game worn jerseys will be auctioned off on eBay with all proceeds going towards supporting the Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund. Poppy funds are spent to support veterans and their families, buy hospital equipment, support cadet groups, and provide student bursaries.
2009 Auction Launches — Friday, May 15, at 7 p.m. ET
2009 Auction Closes — Monday, May 25, at 7 p.m. ET
The official auction link is http://stores.shop.ebay.com/CHL-Auctions__W0QQ_armrsZ1 and will be easily accessible from www.mastercardmemorialcup.com .
The jersey design was derived from the HMCS Rimouski, a Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette which took part in convoy escort duties during World War II. Rimouski served in the Battle of the St. Lawrence and participated in RCN operations as part of Operation POINTE MAISONNETTE, the Canadian military's counter-offensive to the German military's Operation KIEBITZ.
The commemorative jerseys worn by the host Kitchener Rangers hockey club at the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup generated over $50,000 by auction.
The Memorial Cup was donated in 1919 by the Ontario Hockey Association as a memorial to those young men and women who had been given their lives in the defence of Canada during World War I. The 2009 edition of the tournament in Rimouski will mark the 91st time this prestigious trophy will be presented.
For more information about the 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup and to preview the commemorative jerseys please visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.com.