When Hockey Canada needed a coach for its womens hockey team less than two months before the Sochi Olympics, Kevin Dineen stepped up. Not long after he won gold, the phone rang again for a job leading the under-18 mens team. "One call to him at the under-18 level, he just said yes right away," Hockey Canadas Scott Salmond said. On Monday, Dineen began the next chapter of his coaching career as he was named as an assistant on Joel Quennevilles staff with the Chicago Blackhawks. "He doesnt care if hes coaching women or men or kids or what it is. Hes a coach, and thats what he loves to do," Salmond said in a phone interview. "To me, great coaches like challenges and they want to coach, they want to be busy, they want to work and Kevins a great example of that. It wasnt a surprise to me that someone in an organization like Chicago would recognize that and his value and what hell bring there." The Toronto native will return to the NHL less than a year after being fired as head coach of the Florida Panthers, armed with plenty of international experience. Salmond, Hockey Canadas senior director of hockey operations and national teams, enjoyed how much energy and passion Dineen put into his work with the national womens and under-18 mens teams, even though he had no previous connection to either. "I think that the players realized right away that he cares," Salmond said. "He really cares about them. And one thing he talked about with the under-18s the whole time was just trying to make them better and trying to have them leave with something. And yeah we wanted to have team success, but if they could gain something from the experience, then that was great." From those experiences, Salmond expects Dineen to be an even stronger coach as he returns to dealing with professionals with the Blackhawks. "I know he spent a lot of time one-on-one both with the women and the men and communicating with them and sharing ideas and having them buy in and share their ideas as well," Salmond said. "The communication side, I think, is huge. Good coaches have that, and certainly its a strength for him." Dineen conceded in Sochi that he was learning on the fly how to communicate differently with women than he did men in previous jobs, joking that he wasnt using the F-word nearly as much. He was not made available by the Blackhawks, who have a policy of not allowing assistant coaches to speak to reporters. Dineen wrote on Twitter that he was "excited about the opportunity to work with this group of people. World class players and organization." The 50-year-old replaces Jamie Kompon, who became general manager and coach of the WHLs Portland Winterhawks, filling the void left by Mike Johnston when he took the head-coaching job in Pittsburgh. "I am thrilled to join Joel Quenneville, a future hall of fame coach, and (assistant) Mike Kitchen, as we strive to reach the ultimate goal in professional hockey," Dineen said in a statement released by the Blackhawks. "The measure of success is very high in Chicago. I look forward to supporting the coaching staff and working with some of the best players in the National Hockey League." During his playing days, Dineen spent time as a linemate of Quennevilles with the Hartford Whalers. In total he played 1,188 NHL games, finishing with 355 goals and 405 assists. "Kevin brings proven leadership qualities, having served as an alternate captain and captain for several of his teams during his 19-year NHL career," Chicago general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement. "He will bring another well respected voice to our coaching staff and we look forward to his contributions to our team." Dineen represented Canada in international competition six times as a player, including the 1984 Olympics and 1987 Canada Cup. He only added to his international resume with his most recent international coaching jobs, and Salmond called Dineen "a great friend to Hockey Canada." Salmond credited Dineen for changing "a bit of the culture" with the womens team after taking over for Dan Church, who resigned in December, and capturing the nations attention with the gold-medal run. With the under-18 mens team, which won a bronze medal, Salmond said Dineen did a fantastic job by helping Canada play to a level it hadnt reached in recent years. "I think we are very grateful for what he was able to bring," Salmond said. "Hes obviously a professional, a former professional player and I think he brings that kind of mentality to coaching. He was great for our program, kind of gave us another perspective and helped us with some things both on the womens side and on the mens side that hell leave behind." Dineen coached the AHLs Portland Pirates for six years before taking over the Panthers. Florida made the playoffs in one of his two full seasons behind the bench, and Dineen was fired 16 games into 2013-14. Sale Tom Brady Jersey . The 6-foot-10 centre who won an NBA title with the Miami Heat was voted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday, adding that honour to becoming a board member at his alma mater. Tom Brady Jersey Retro . -- David Freese is starting to pick up his run production, which is something the Los Angeles Angels have been waiting half a season to see. https://www.sportsstarsjerseys.com/tom-brady-jersey/ . On Wednesday, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hit back. In a passionate defence of himself and the London clubs medical staff, the Portuguese coach rebuked the "incompetent people" who have attacked Tottenham for allowing Lloris to continue playing after being briefly knocked unconscious against Everton on Sunday. Tom Brady Jersey . Appearing on TSN 690 Monday afternoon, Mike Babcock said he had conversations with both P.K. Subban and Carey Price about those on-ice traits during Hockey Canadas summer orientation camp. Mike Babcock: McGill experience, P. Womens Tom Brady Jersey . Best has been bothered by concussion problems and hasnt played since Oct. 16, when the Lions lost to San Francisco. After starting 5-0, Detroit has lost four of six, beginning with that game against the 49ers.Gold has once again escaped the grasp of Team USA. The mens hockey team will now try to avoid leaving the Sochi Olympics without a medal at all as they battle Finland in the bronze medal game on Saturday. The United States squared off against Canada on Friday in a rematch of the 2010 gold medal game. And like those Vancouver Games, Canada got the better of the U.S. by handing the Americans a 1-0 setback. Jonathan Quick, who finishes the tournament today as the U.S. starting goaltender, was solid in net for the U.S. and posted 36 saves, but an offense that tied Finland for the most goals in the preliminary round (15) failed to get a shot by Canadian netminder Carey Price. Price ended with 31 saves to advance Canada into the gold medal game against Sweden. The only goal allowed by Quick came at 1:41 of the second period as Canadas Jay Bouwmeester unleashed a low, hard shot from the left point that was redirected into the net by Jamie Benn. The defeat dropped the U.S. to 1-4 in Olympic action against Canada since NHL players began competing in 1998. That includes an overtime setback four years ago in Vancouver.dddddddddddd Looking to secure a chance at winning its first Olympic gold medal, Finland instead saw its offense struggle as well in a 2-1 setback to Sweden on Friday. Without goaltender Tuukka Rask due to illness, Finland got 23 stops from Kari Lehtonen. Olli Jokinen was the lone Finn to beat Swede goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 25 saves. Rask will get the start in goal for the medal game. Jokinen was in the penalty box when Sweden netted its game-winning goal in the second period as Erik Karlsson scored on a one-time blast with 3:34 on the clock. The Finns had a power-play opportunity midway through the third, but failed to cash in and didnt have many good scoring chances the rest of the way. Finland is looking to secure an Olympic medal for the fifth time in the last six Olympic Games. The Finns won bronze in 2010 after taking silver four years prior. The U.S., which has not won gold since the 1980 Games in Lake Placid, won silver in 2002 and four years ago in Vancouver after being held without a medal in 2006. The last time the Americans won a bronze medal was in 1936. ' ' '