Ron Wilson '77, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has been named the head coach of the U.S. Men's Ice Hockey Team that will compete in the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Wilson, a 15-year NHL coach, also will coach the American team in this spring's World Championship tournament, which will run from April 24 through May 10 in Switzerland.

Wilson, who previously coached the U.S. in the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, will be the fourth head coach to hold this position more than once. The others are Murray Williamson (1968 and 1972), the late Herb Brooks (1980 and 2002), and the late Dave Peterson (1988 and 1992).

As a player at PC, Wilson scored a program-record 250 points in four seasons with the Friars. His stats make him the NCAA's all-time leading scorer among defensemen.

He was subsequently drafted by the Maple Leafs in 1975 and played in 177 NHL games as well as several minor league and overseas stints in a span of 11 seasons (1977-1988).

Upon retiring, Wilson immediately began his coaching career as an assistant with the American Hockey League's Moncton Hawks (1988-1990). He has since worked as an assistant for the Vancouver Canucks (1990-93) and as head coach of the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks (1993-97), Washington Capitals (1997-2002), and San Jose Sharks (2002-2008) before becoming Toronto's head coach.

Wilson was hired as the Olympic team coach by his PC classmate Brian Burke '77, president and general manager of the Maple Leafs. Burke was named GM of the Olympic team last June.

Wilson's greatest moment as an international coach came in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, when the U.S. upset Canada in a three-game championship series in Montreal. That achievement may serve as a motivational reminder next winter when the Americans anticipate a daunting challenge to knock off the host country in Vancouver.

"Obviously, there's going to be a tremendous challenge," Wilson said during a media teleconference on April 6. "I think the gold medal runs right through Canada. They're going to be the favorites."

Added Burke: "We understand the odds. We understand that we'll probably be the youngest team in the field. We understand that there won't be a whole lot of people pulling for us in that marketplace, and there won't be a lot of people who think we can do this. But we think we can."