After two years as an assistant, Tim Hunter is getting his chance to lead Canada's National Junior Team for the 2018-19 season.

Hunter was named Team Canada's head coach on Tuesday and he will lead the team at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria this December.

"Any time you're named to represent Canada at any level, in any capacity, it's a real honour and real thrill, so to be the head coach of the World Junior team is a real thrill," said Hunter, who will be the first Moose Jaw Warriors coach to serve as head coach of Canada's World Junior team.

Hunter is also the first coach from the East Division to guide the Canadian National Junior Team since Prince Albert's Terry Simpson in 1986.

This will be Hunter's fourth time on a Hockey Canada staff after the Warriors head coach won a gold medal in 2018 and silver in 2017 with Canada while serving as an assistant coach on Dominique Ducharme’s World Junior staffs.

"I really felt that we built a good template for success (over the past two years) and we're going to a lot of the things very much with similarity, but not completely the same," said Hunter. "I have my own vision and what I want the team to be like and we're going to take things to another level and be more exciting and hopefully improve on what we've done in the past."

Hunter also led Canada to a bronze medal as head coach at the 2015 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

Joining Hunter on the staff this year are assistants Marc-André Dumont from the QMJHL's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles; Jim Hulton of the Charlottetown Islanders; Lethbridge Hurricanes coach Brent Kisio.

They will go to work starting later this month with the Hockey Canada Summer Development Camp.

Hunter said that's where the team will start to form its identity, "I've already committed to the way that I want to play and we'll tweak it with the assistant coaches and the management group, but you kind of have to work with what you have but I know what we have will fit well with what we're trying to do," he said.

Hunter is heading into his fifth season as head coach of the Warriors, leading the team to the franchise's first Scott Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions with 52-15-2-3 record. He's the franchise leader with 145 career wins over four seasons.

Hunter said he's looking forward the challenge of juggling both jobs over the first half of the Western Hockey League season.

"We want a lot of pressure (as coaches), we want to play in the big games under the bright lights, that's what we work for, I'm prepared already for the summer camp, I just can't wait to get started," said Hunter.

"We've got a great group of 99s and 2000s in this country and I'm really looking forward to working with them."

The World Juniors return to Canada this year with the tournament heading to British Columbia in Vancouver and Victoria. Hunter said that adds to the excitement.

"When it was in Toronto and Montreal and we played in that gold medal game and lost in a shootout, it was just a thrill, the Canadian fans are great," said Hunter. "Real fortunate for me, I played in Vancouver, so I know the passion of those fans and even in Kamloops for the summer camp, they have great fans, great hockey community, it's going to be exciting and great for the fans in Western Canada."

Hockey Canada's World Junior Summer Showcase runs July 28-Aug. 4 in Kamloops, B.C. and will feature Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States squaring off in 11 games in the first step towards the 2019 World Juniors.