Hockey Canada announced its roster for its World Junior training camp on Monday in Toronto.
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After consecutive quarterfinal losses at the World Juniors, Hockey Canada is changing the way it prepares for the annual under-20 championship. Instead of a four-day selection camp featuring more than 30 players, a smaller-than-usual group is being invited to Niagara Falls, Ont., for a training camp.
“We wanted to prioritize preparation over more evaluations,” said Alan Millar, who is in his first year as the first full-time general manager for Canada’s World Junior team.
“It’s not like 40 kids coming in,” said head coach Dale Hunter. “It’s right down to our team. We go right into our first practice, doing five-on-five [work], neutral zone, PP, PK. We can be more prepared to start.”
Hockey Canada is inviting only 27 players to this year’s camp, including 15 forwards, nine defencemen and three goalies. The plan is to make three cuts and get down to the final group before travelling to Minnesota on Dec. 22.
“It was our goal to name our [final] roster leading into Niagara Falls, but just with some injuries, the number of players in the National Hockey League, there was a lot of moving parts,” Millar said. “And some guys are pushing. We decided to bring an extra goalie, an extra D, and an extra forward, and to get these players in front of the coaches. At the end of the day, Dale can have a significant say in terms of who those final pieces are.”
Millar revealed that no players have been told they are either guaranteed a spot or on the bubble. Everyone is arriving to the camp with the same information.
The first practice at training camp is scheduled for Saturday at the Gale Centre. Canada will play Sweden in a pair of pre-tournament games on Dec. 17 in Kitchener, Ont. and Dec. 20 in London, Ont.
Canada will then play a final pre-tournament game against Denmark on Dec. 23 in Mankato, Minn.
“It’s not an all-star team,” stressed Millar. “We have to build what is really a true team … We prioritize hard skill over soft skill. Players that are only good with time and space, play on the perimeter, don’t compete, don’t help you win. We want players that play hard, get on the inside, finish their checks, go to the net, get into the hard areas. There are players that produce points and have success offensively, but you can’t trust them to help you win at this level.”
Teams are allowed to carry three goalies, and while Canada has invited three to its camp, the plan is to bring just two to Minnesota.
Canada opens the World Juniors against Czechia on Boxing Day.
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There are six returning players, who are seeking redemption after last year’s fifth-place finish, including Penn State Nittany Lions forward Gavin McKenna.
McKenna told TSN’s James Duthie that he’s “very confident” in Canada’s chances.
“They’ve done everything to set us up for this year,” said McKenna, who is projected to go first overall in the 2026 NHL draft. “Seeing the players they took, I think they’ve made some smart decisions, and we’ve got a loaded team this year. I think going through the adversity last year, some of us returners, I think that’ll help us come into this year. We’re all pretty fired up.”
The other returnees are Michigan State Spartans forward Porter Martone, Barrie Colts forward Cole Beaudoin, Brantford Bulldogs forward Jett Luchanko, Owen Sound Attack goalie Carter George and Michigan Wolverines goalie Jack Ivankovic.
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Hockey Canada received a boost from the NHL with San Jose Sharks forward Michael Misa, Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Harrison Brunicke and Calgary Flames defenceman Zayne Parekh being officially loaned out for the World Juniors on Monday.
Parekh is hoping the World Juniors will “jumpstart” his season. The 2023-24 defenceman of the year in the Canadian Hockey League has just one assist in 11 games with the Flames.
“It hasn’t been the season I want,” Parekh told reporters in Calgary. “Production-wise, it hasn’t been there. It will be good to go build some confidence, play my game and just have fun. I mean, I’m going to get a lot of leash and be able to make plays and do my thing. I should be coming back with hopefully a lot of confidence.”
There are six other Canadians who are eligible for the World Juniors currently in the NHL. Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini, Penguins centre Ben Kindel, Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke and New York Islanders defenceman Matthew Schaefer are all playing consistently and are established with their teams.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Kraken announced on Monday that forward Berkly Catton, who was on Team Canada last year, is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
So, Sharks defenceman Sam Dickinson, who was on last year’s World Junior team and played for Hunter in London, may be the best bet for Team Canada to get an additional NHL player.
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During his interview with TSN, McKenna highlighted the track record of success possessed by this year’s coaching staff. Hunter coached Canada to gold at the 2020 World Juniors and just guided the London Knights to a Memorial Cup title.
What does Hunter like about this year’s roster?
“Good skaters and with size,” Hunter observed. “Sometimes you lack size, but are skilled. Our fast players are big players too.”
The training camp roster features just three players who are shorter than six feet. McKenna, Luchanko and University of North Dakota forward Cole Reschny are all 5-foot-11.
The elimination of a selection camp will give Hunter more time to install systems and hammer home important details.
“You just don’t happen to win with the best players,” Hunter said. “You win with good players playing the right structure.”
Discipline is also a major theme.
“We started right from the summer camp talking about rules,” Hunter said. “We’ve got to play within them. You’ve got to play hard, but you’ve got to play fair.”
Canada was the most penalized team at the 2025 event in Ottawa. Czechia scored the game-winning goal in the quarterfinal on the power play.
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As was the case in 2020, Hunter will be joined by his brother Mark Hunter, who is the management group lead.
“We love the game, love being competitive, and we never stop loving winning,” Mark Hunter said. “So that’s why we’re here is to win here in this tournament. That’s our goal.”
But humility is important as they pursue that goal.
“It’s important that we, and the players, don’t get ahead of ourselves,” Mark Hunter said. “We’ve got to be hopeful and humble. I think that’s going to be our motto, and making sure we keep our feet on the ground and understand what we need to do to win games.”
Canada has been forced to stomach a lot of humble pie at the last two World Juniors, including a first-ever loss to Latvia last year in the preliminary round. In that game, Canada fell in a shootout after eight straight skaters failed to score on Linards Feldbergs.
Former NHLer Kyle Turris is a shootout consultant for this year’s Team Canada.
“Turris has developed a presentation around shootouts,” Millar said. “He was very proficient in his NHL career. He’s had some experience around our under-17 and under-18 groups.”
Turris scored on 30 of his 79 shootout attempts in the NHL (38 per cent).
Hockey Canada is also bringing in former NHLer Mike Eagles as a faceoff consultant.
“Under our new structure, where we’re bringing less players to camp, we have more of a focus on preparation,” Millar explained. “We’ve expanded our development model around our camp.”
Catton (46.4) and Luchanko (47.7) finished at the bottom of the tournament in faceoff percentage last year.
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Hockey Canada World Junior training camp roster:
FORWARDS
Carter Bear, Everett Silvertips (DET)
Cole Beaudoin, Barrie Colts (UTA)
Braeden Cootes, Seattle Thunderbirds (VAN)
Caleb Desnoyers, Moncton Wildcats (UTA)
Liam Greentree, Windsor Spitfires (LAK)
Michael Hage, Michigan (MTL)
Tij Iginla, Kelowna Rockets (UTA)
Jett Luchanko, Brantford Bulldogs (PHI)
Brady Martin, Soo Greyhounds (NSH)
Porter Martone, Michigan State (PHI)
Gavin McKenna, Penn State (2026)
Michael Misa, San Jose Sharks (SJS)
Jake O’Brien, Brantford Bulldogs (SEA)
Sam O’Reilly, London Knights (TBL)
Cole Reschny, North Dakota (CGY)
DEFENCE
Kashawn Aitcheson, Barrie Colts (NYI)
Harrison Brunicke, Pittsburgh Penguins (PIT)
Ben Danford, Brantford Bulldogs (TOR)
Carson Carels, Prince George Cougars (2026)
Ethan Mackenzie, Edmonton Oil Kings
Zayne Parekh, Calgary Flames (CGY)
Cameron Reid, Kitchener Rangers (NSH)
Jackson Smith, Penn State (CBJ)
Keaton Verhoeff, North Dakota (2026)
GOALIES
Carter George, Owen Sound Attack (LAK)
Jack Ivankovic, Michigan (NSH)
Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George Cougars (SJS)