SAN JOSE — Sharks coach Todd McLellan will coach Canada’s national team in the IIHF World Championship tournament next month in the Czech Republic, and Brent Burns has been selected as one of the team’s defensemen.

The announcements on the coaching staff and the initial roster were both made Tuesday by Canada general manager Jim Nill, who worked with McLellan in the Detroit Red Wing organization and now runs the Dallas Stars. The tournament is held in Europe every spring with Canada’s roster composed of NHL players whose teams did not qualify for the Stanley Cup, or were eliminated early.

This is the first time that McLellan, whose future with San Jose is likely to be determined this week, is a head coach for any Team Canada competition, though he did serve as an assistant at the 2000 World Junior Championships. Canada won the bronze medal that year.

Nill also announced that McLellan’s assistants will include Jay Woodcroft, who has the same role with the Sharks as well as Peter DeBoer, former head coach of the New Jersey Devils, and Bill Peters, current head coach of the Carolina Hurricane.

“This is a coaching staff with extensive experience in the NHL and knowledge of the international game, as well,” Nill said in a prepared statement. “As a management group we are excited to work with this staff, and look forward to building a roster and representing Canada in the Czech Republic next month.”

Burns has represented Canada in four previous international competitions. He played in the World Junior Championship in 2003-04, and the World Championship in 2008, 2010 and 2011. In 23 World Championship games, he has five goals and 13 assists.

A total of 19 players have been selected to play for Canada so far — 12 forwards, five defensemen and two goalies.

The tournament sponsored by the International Ice Hockey Federation begins May 1 with the title game on May 7. Games will be played in Prague and Ostrava.

Todd Richards, a former McLellan assistant in San Jose and current coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, was named head coach of Team USA on Monday.

Team Canada’s initial roster for the World Championships

Forwards

Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche

Cody Eakin, Dallas Stars

Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers

Tyler Ennis, Buffalo Sabres

Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers

Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers

Ryan O’Rielly, Colorado Avalanche

Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars

Jason Spezza, Dallas Stars

Tyler Toffoli, Los Angeles Kings

Defensemen

Tyson Barrie, Colorado Avalanche

Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers

Jake Muzzin, Los Angeles Kings

David Savard, Columbus Blue Jackets

Goalies

Martin Jones, Los Angeles Kings

Mike Smith, Arizona Coyotes

Staff writer Curtis Pashelka contributed to this report. For more on the Sharks, see David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/sharks. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/PollakOnSharks.