Team Canada travelled to London, Ont., on Saturday to take on Sweden in their second tune-up game for the World Juniors.
—
Dale Hunter is expecting a loud homecoming on Saturday night in London, Ont., when Team Canada faces Sweden in a pre-tournament game at Canada Life Place.
“They’ll be rambunctious there, and they’ll be awesome to play in front of,” said Hunter, who is taking a leave from coaching the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League in order to run Canada’s bench at the World Juniors. “London follows the World Juniors, the whole city does, and it’s a great time of the year. So, they’ll be full-fledged, full house, and everything will be a full go.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fired up,” said Team Canada forward Sam O’Reilly, who plays for the Knights. “They love the game.”
London, Ont., native Jett Luchanko, who is one of six returning players on the roster, is expecting plenty of family and friends in the arena. Ditto for Kitchener Rangers defenceman Cameron Reid, who grew up in the area.
“I’ve already had some friends text me and just saying they bought tickets,” Reid said. “I already got some tickets myself for my family there. It’s gonna be a lot of people I know. Yeah, very excited for it.”
Some of the OHL players on Canada’s roster are eager to see what it’s like to be on the home side in London for a change.
“It’s going to be a little weird, but they have great fans for London,” said Windsor Spitfires forward Liam Greentree. “They’ve had a lot of success there, so I’m pretty excited to play there.”
Team Canada opened its exhibition schedule with a 2-1 win over Sweden on Wednesday in Kitchener, Ont.
“It didn’t feel right, that’s for sure,” said O’Reilly when asked about being on the home side in the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. “Excited to get back to London and play there.”
—
Hunter is looking for a similar approach from his team in Saturday’s rematch against Sweden.
“Play a hard style, a fast style, but a structured style,” he said. “It’s tight hockey out there. The Swedes are well coached. They don’t give you much, so you have to earn everything you get, and we can’t play loose. We got to play good defensively.”
Hunter, who suited up in 1,409 NHL games during his playing days, began his coaching career with the Knights in 2001 and has held that role for the last 24 seasons. He only left briefly during the 2011-12 season when he coached the Washington Capitals.
Hunter, who is also a co-owner of the team, has coached the Knights to five OHL championships (2005, 2013, 2016, 2024, 2025) and three Memorial Cup titles (2005, 2016, 2025).
“He runs it pro style,” said O’Reilly. “It’s straightforward and it’s a reliable game.”
O’Reilly notices that Hunter is a bit more talkative with Team Canada than with the Knights because there’s limited time to get the group locked in prior to the start of the World Juniors on Boxing Day.
“You just gotta pay attention and do everything he says,” O’Reilly noted. “He knows best.”
“If you don’t do what he’s saying, then you won’t really play,” said Greentree. “I think that’s a professional coach right there. Once you get to the next level, that’s kind of how it is.”
After consecutive quarterfinal losses, Hockey Canada is hoping Hunter’s no-nonsense approach will get the country back on top of the podium in Minnesota this year. Hunter’s only other appearance with the national junior team ended with a gold medal win in Ostrava, Czechia in 2020.
What stands out the most about Hunter?
“Just his competitive nature,” said Reid. “His strict just dead focus on the game and trying to win. I think that’s the biggest thing for me that I love.”
Reid has watched Hunter coach his entire life.
“For him to be behind me on the bench now, it’s really just a full lifecycle moment for me,” Reid said.
Team Canada players appreciating Hunter’s no-nonsense approach Ahead of Dale Hunter’s homecoming in London for Canada’s pre-tournament clash with Sweden, the players share what they like about playing for the decorated head coach and some things they’ve learned about him throughout training camp.
—
Everett Silvertips forward Carter Bear and University of North Dakota defenceman Keaton Verhoeff will be the healthy scratches on Saturday.
“I’ve seen it so many times in the World Juniors that people start there and they end up on the top line,” Hunter said. “So you just got to keep working. I know everybody wants to play, and that’s a tough part of the game, but be ready when you get your chance.”
Moncton Wildcats centre Caleb Desnoyers will start as the 13th forward on Saturday while Prince George Cougar Carson Carels will be the seventh defenceman.
Michigan freshman Jack Ivankovic gets the start in goal and will play the whole game, Hunter confirmed. Prince George’s Joshua Ravensbergen will dress as the back-up goalie.
Owen Sound Attack goalie Carter George earned the win on Wednesday.
Saturday’s game will be the first one since Canada made three cuts to get down to 25 players, which is the maximum that can be registered at the World Juniors. There’s still a chance the roster changes if there’s a last-minute loan from an NHL team.
Canada still plans to release one goalie and carry only two at the World Juniors.
—
Greentree is happy to be missing his two front teeth this Christmas.
“I wish I had a better story, but it’s just a high stick in a practice at the start of last season,” the Los Angeles Kings prospect said.
Spitfires defenceman Conor Walton clipped him up high.
“They were cracked,” Greentree recalled. “They were cracked so bad that I couldn’t fix’em, so I had to just take them out, and my flippers [replacement teeth] don’t really fit that well. Honestly, I’d probably be spitting them at the camera right now.”
Greentree doesn’t mind the look.
“It fits me well,” the 19-year-old from Oshawa, Ont., said. “My mom wasn’t too happy once it first happened. I think my dad was a little pumped. They’ve gotten used to it now. I think they like it now. Yeah, it’s cool. It’s the hockey look, right?”
“It’s pretty gritty,” O’Reilly said. “I get a good laugh every time I look at him.”
O’Reilly is also dealing with a chip to one of his front teeth courtesy a high stick a couple weeks ago.
“Just a little one,” he said. “Trying to hide it.”
“He’s got that great smile going, too,” Greentree pointed out.
Greentree and O’Reilly are playing together on Canada’s fourth line with Seattle Thunderbirds centre Braeden Cootes.
“Just a hard-working and reliable line that can work in the O-zone as well,” said O’Reilly.
“We want to be hard on the forecheck, and they’re forechecking guys,” said Hunter. “They got to play in the body and be aggressive and be responsible defensively.”
‘Mom wasn’t too happy’: But Greentree’s smile is fitting look for Canada’s energy line Liam Greentree tells the story of how he got his hockey smile and jokes that his mom isn’t too happy about his missing teeth. Greentree is on Canada’s fourth line with Braeden Cootes and Sam O’Reilly, who also has a chipped tooth, and Cameron Reid is happy he doesn’t have to face that ‘deadly’ trio at the World Juniors.
—
Team Canada is based in Niagara Falls, Ont., during their training camp. While most players planned to play cards or listen to music on the bus ride to London, O’Reilly had other plans.
“I’m gonna be watching my good buddy Denver Barkey,” O’Reilly said. “He just got called up [by the Philadelphia Flyers] so I’ll be watching his game.
O’Reilly succeeded Barkey, who played in London from 2021 to 2025, as Knights captain this season.
“Super fired up,” O’Reilly said. “A guy who works hard every day and he’s earned it. So yeah, really fired up. Had some good times with him and some times I’ll never forget.”
Barkey picked up two primary assists in Saturday afternoon’s game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.
How do Team Canada’s players pass the time on bus rides? Team Canada took a trip down the highway to London, Ontario where they will take on Sweden in a pre-tournament matchup before the World Juniors starts on Boxing Day. Liam Greentree, Sam O’Reilly and Cameron Reid shared how they pass the time on team bus rides.
—
Projected Team Canada lineup for Saturday’s game:
F
McKenna – Misa – Martone
Iginla – Hage – Martin
Reschny – Beaudoin – Luchanko
Greentree – Cootes – O’Reilly
Desnoyers
D
Reid – Parekh
Aitcheson – Brunicke
MacKenzie – Danford
Carels
G
Ivankovic starts
Ravensbergen
Scratches: Bear, Verhoeff, George