LOS ANGELES — Todd McLellan and Jay Woodcroft are a package deal.

They have been since their days with the Detroit Red Wings.

So when McLellan was appointed head coach of Team North American at the World Cup of Hockey, Woodcroft was expected to join him on the staff.

On Friday, it was made official as Woodcroft, Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, Arizona Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett and San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer were added to the coaching staff.

“Woody and I have been together for a long, long time,” McLellan said. “I have a comfort in having Jay around for a lot of reasons. He keeps me organized and a workaholic, he gets a lot of work done. He understands my language and where I might be going with my thoughts and how to put things together.

“Technically, he can gather a lot of the information and I think he’s as sharp a coach as there is right now. He doesn’t often get the recognition because of his path to the NHL, but we’re very luck to have him, not only with that World Cup team, but also in Edmonton.”

McLellan and Woodcroft came to Edmonton this season after an extended stint with the San Jose Sharks. Woodcroft was also part of McLellan’s staff at the IIHF World Championships this spring, guiding Canada to a gold medal.

“It’s going to be a great learning experience for me,” Woodcroft said. “It’s going to be a great experience for my family. It’s in my hometown of Toronto, it’s a huge honour to have been asked to join such a prestigious coaching staff. I’m really looking forward to working with all the coaches and all the management.

“I’m very fortunate, I’m going to go in with an open mindset and open attitude and I’m looking forward to learning, not only from the entire coaching staff, but from the management staff and learning from the players that you get to work with as well.”

derek.vandiest@sunmedia.ca

twitter.com/SUNdvandiest