You can watch Canada takes on Sweden Saturday night at 7pm ET\/4pm PT on TSN5 and streaming on TSN.ca or the TSN App.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\nLondon, 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve already had some friends text me and just saying they bought tickets,\u201d Reid said. \u201cI already got some tickets myself for my family there. It\u2019s gonna be a lot of people I know. Yeah, very excited for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the OHL players on Canada\u2019s roster are eager to see what it\u2019s like to be on the home side in London for a change. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a little weird, but they have great fans for London,\u201d said Windsor Spitfires forward Liam Greentree. \u201cThey\u2019ve had a lot of success there, so I\u2019m pretty excited to play there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Team Canada opened its exhibition schedule with a 2-1 win over Sweden on Wednesday in Kitchener, Ont. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t feel right, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly when asked about being on the home side in the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. \u201cExcited to get back to London and play there.\u201d<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Hunter is looking for a similar approach from his team in Saturday\u2019s rematch against Sweden. <\/p>\n
\u201cPlay a hard style, a fast style, but a structured style,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s tight hockey out there. The Swedes are well coached. They don\u2019t give you much, so you have to earn everything you get, and we can\u2019t play loose. We got to play good defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
\u201cHe runs it pro style,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly. \u201cIt\u2019s straightforward and it\u2019s a reliable game.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Reilly notices that Hunter is a bit more talkative with Team Canada than with the Knights because there\u2019s limited time to get the group locked in prior to the start of the World Juniors on Boxing Day. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou just gotta pay attention and do everything he says,\u201d O\u2019Reilly noted. \u201cHe knows best.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t do what he\u2019s saying, then you won\u2019t really play,\u201d said Greentree. \u201cI think that\u2019s a professional coach right there. Once you get to the next level, that\u2019s kind of how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
After consecutive quarterfinal losses, Hockey Canada is hoping Hunter\u2019s no-nonsense approach will get the country back on top of the podium in Minnesota this year. Hunter\u2019s only other appearance with the national junior team ended with a gold medal win in Ostrava, Czechia in 2020. <\/p>\n
What stands out the most about Hunter?<\/p>\n
\u201cJust his competitive nature,\u201d said Reid. \u201cHis strict just dead focus on the game and trying to win. I think that\u2019s the biggest thing for me that I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reid has watched Hunter coach his entire life. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor him to be behind me on the bench now, it\u2019s really just a full lifecycle moment for me,\u201d Reid said.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Everett Silvertips forward Carter Bear and University of North Dakota defenceman Keaton Verhoeff will be the healthy scratches on Saturday. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen it so many times in the World Juniors that people start there and they end up on the top line,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cSo you just got to keep working. I know everybody wants to play, and that\u2019s a tough part of the game, but be ready when you get your chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moncton Wildcats centre Caleb Desnoyers will start as the 13th forward on Saturday while Prince George Cougar Carson Carels will be the seventh defenceman. <\/p>\n
Michigan freshman Jack Ivankovic gets the start in goal and will play the whole game, Hunter confirmed. Prince George\u2019s Joshua Ravensbergen will dress as the back-up goalie. <\/p>\n
Owen Sound Attack goalie Carter George earned the win on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s 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\u2019s still a chance the roster changes if there\u2019s a last-minute loan from an NHL team. <\/p>\n
Canada still plans to release one goalie and carry only two at the World Juniors. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Greentree is happy to be missing his two front teeth this Christmas. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I had a better story, but it\u2019s just a high stick in a practice at the start of last season,\u201d the Los Angeles Kings prospect said. <\/p>\n
Spitfires defenceman Conor Walton clipped him up high. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey were cracked,\u201d Greentree recalled. \u201cThey were cracked so bad that I couldn\u2019t fix\u2019em, so I had to just take them out, and my flippers [replacement teeth] don\u2019t really fit that well. Honestly, I\u2019d probably be spitting them at the camera right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greentree doesn\u2019t mind the look. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt fits me well,\u201d the 19-year-old from Oshawa, Ont., said. \u201cMy mom wasn\u2019t too happy once it first happened. I think my dad was a little pumped. They\u2019ve gotten used to it now. I think they like it now. Yeah, it\u2019s cool. It\u2019s the hockey look, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty gritty,\u201d O\u2019Reilly said. \u201cI get a good laugh every time I look at him.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Reilly is also dealing with a chip to one of his front teeth courtesy a high stick a couple weeks ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust a little one,\u201d he said. \u201cTrying to hide it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got that great smile going, too,\u201d Greentree pointed out.<\/p>\n
Greentree and O\u2019Reilly are playing together on Canada\u2019s fourth line with Seattle Thunderbirds centre Braeden Cootes. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust a hard-working and reliable line that can work in the O-zone as well,\u201d said O\u2019Reilly. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be hard on the forecheck, and they\u2019re forechecking guys,\u201d said Hunter. \u201cThey got to play in the body and be aggressive and be responsible defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘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. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
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\u2019Reilly had other plans. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gonna be watching my good buddy Denver Barkey,\u201d O\u2019Reilly said. \u201cHe just got called up [by the Philadelphia Flyers] so I\u2019ll be watching his game. <\/p>\n
O\u2019Reilly succeeded Barkey, who played in London from 2021 to 2025, as Knights captain this season. <\/p>\n
\u201cSuper fired up,\u201d O\u2019Reilly said. \u201cA guy who works hard every day and he\u2019s earned it. So yeah, really fired up. Had some good times with him and some times I\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barkey picked up two primary assists in Saturday afternoon\u2019s game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Projected Team Canada lineup for Saturday\u2019s game:<\/p>\n
F<\/b><\/p>\n
McKenna – Misa – Martone<\/p>\n
Iginla – Hage – Martin<\/p>\n
Reschny – Beaudoin – Luchanko<\/p>\n
Greentree – Cootes – O\u2019Reilly<\/p>\n
Desnoyers<\/p>\n
D<\/b><\/p>\n
Reid – Parekh<\/p>\n
Aitcheson – Brunicke<\/p>\n
MacKenzie – Danford<\/p>\n
Carels <\/p>\n
G<\/b><\/p>\n
Ivankovic starts <\/p>\n
Ravensbergen<\/p>\n
Scratches: Bear, Verhoeff, George <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Team Canada travelled to London, Ont., on Saturday to take on Sweden in their second tune-up game for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[834,748,393,4884,257,16,15,197976],"class_list":{"0":"post-644898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-world-juniors-sports-hockey-world-juniors"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115753872467701720","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}