Gavin McKenna will represent Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
The star forward for the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers is making headlines as he turns 17 next week National team 25-man roster The annual tournament was announced Friday.
McKenna, who is projected to be a potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft, will join two young men vying for the No. 1 pick in June — 18-year-old winger Porter Martone and 17-year-old player defender Matthew Shafer.
Five of the seven eligible returning players from last year’s disappointing fifth-place finish in Sweden return, with forwards Easton Cowan, Brayden Jaeger and Karson Rykopf earning the nod. And defenders Oliver Bunker and Tanner Molendik will anchor the blue line.
Two players who were unable to keep the tournament, which runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Ottawa, are forward Matthew Wood and goaltender Scott Ratzlaff.
Other members at the front include Bradly Nadeau, Jett Luchanko, Luca Pinelli, Berkly Catton, Ethan Gauthier, Calum Ritchie, Tanner Howe, Cole Beaudoin and Mathieu Cataford.
Nadeau did not participate in the selection camp in Ottawa this week, but his eligibility was guaranteed after the NHL’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Carolina Hurricanes, offered him an opportunity.
The Canadian Defense Force also includes Andrew Gibson, Sam Dickinson, Caden Price, Sawyer Maineau and Bo Aki.
The hockey powerhouse’s trio consists of goaltenders Jack Ivankovic, Carter George and Carson Bjarnason, who is also a qualified A 17-year-old player entering June’s NHL draft.
“We believe we have assembled a competitive, talented roster that will give us the best chance to win gold medals at home,” Hockey Canada’s Peter Anho, head of the under-20 program management team Walter said in a statement. “We look forward to them wearing their maple leaves with pride.”
Canada was looking to add to its record 20 gold medals at the annual showcase but was eliminated in the quarter-finals with a last-minute loss to the Czech Republic.
Other notable cuts on Friday include Calgary Flames defensive star Zayne Parekh and Beckett Sennecke, the latter of whom was taken by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2024 draft. Drafted third overall. Both players missed tryout camp due to injuries and are eligible to participate in tryouts again next year.
Canada will now hold training camp in Petawawa, Ont., ahead of pre-tournament games against Switzerland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
The home team takes on Finland in the Group A opener on Boxing Day at the Canadian Tire Centre, home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Defending champions the United States, Latvia and Germany make up the remaining participating teams.
Group B is played at TD Place, home of the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67s, and includes teams from Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland and Kazakhstan. Russia remains banned from competition by the International Ice Hockey Federation due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The last time Ottawa hosted the World Juniors was in 2009, when Canada defeated Sweden for a record-tying fifth consecutive gold medal.
After winning silver in 2011, Cameron led the national team to the podium in 2022. Cameron was an assistant coach to the late Pat Quinn at that tournament in the capital 15 years ago.
“This group of 25 players is excited for the opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf flag in front of Canadian fans in Ottawa and represent their country in a gold medal competition,” he said in a statement. “This is a great moment for these players and their families. A great achievement.
“We know they will enjoy the World Juniors experience while bringing us the competitiveness we need to succeed and achieve our goals.”
