CALGARY, Alberta -- Former Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff will be behind Canada's bench for the world hockey championship next month in Stockholm and Helsinki.

Ruff was fired by the Sabres on Feb. 20, ending a 16-year run as the team's coach. He coached Canada to a silver medal in the 2009 world championship and was an associate coach under Mike Babcock on Canada's 2010 gold-medal Olympic team.

"I said I want to coach," Ruff said Wednesday. "You're out of it a short period of time and you miss it. When you look at all the playoff races around and you're sitting on the outside, it's a hard thing to do as a coach. I'm excited to get back it. I had two great experiences working with Team Canada and really want to make this a third. Any time you get around world-class players, it helps you as a coach."

Doug Shedden will be one of Ruff's assistant coaches. Shedden coached Canada to a gold medal at the 2012 Spengler Cup and also coached Finland to a bronze medal in the 2008 world championship. He currently coaches EV Zug in the Swiss A League.

Canada finished fifth at the 2012 world championship under Brent Sutter.