It’s on to the medal round for Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team, which takes on the United States in an all-North American semifinal Friday night at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. This matchup is a rematch of the 2023 U18 World Championship gold medal game, where Canada emerged victorious thanks to a hat trick from Gavin McKenna.
Canada closed out an unblemished preliminary round with a 2-1 win over Sweden on Wednesday night. Benjamin Kindel got the scoring started seven minutes into the first period and Gavin McKenna provided the winner with 7:28 left in the third for the Canadians, who held off a late Swedish push to top Group A.
The Americans romped to a victory in their prelim finale, getting a goal and four assists from Alexander Donovan, and two goals and a helper apiece from Mason Moe, Sam Spehar and Nicolas Sykora in a 12-3 win over Germany. The U.S. took control with a six-goal second period, outscoring the Germans 21-1.
The rivals met a year ago at this stage of the tournament, with Canada coming from behind for a 7-2 semifinal win in Trencin, Slovakia. Maxim Masse and Berkly Catton led the offence with two goals apiece for the Canadians, who scored six unanswered goals over the final 40 minutes, outshooting the Americans 29-13 over that span.
More recently, it was a Canada-U.S. gold medal game at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship last spring. McKenna was the star in that one, scoring a hat trick – including a pair of goals in the decisive third period – to lead the Canadians to a 6-4 comeback win for their fifth world title.
What to Watch
Jack Ivankovic has been lights out in the Canadian goal, allowing just a single goal across his two starts and keeping the Swiss and Swedes scoreless for more than 113 minutes to start the tournament. The Mississauga native has fashioned a tournament-leading 0.50 goals-against average and .977 save percentage, adding to his already-impressive international résumé; last November, he backstopped Canada White to a gold medal at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with a 2.51 GAA and .923 SV% across eight games, both tops among netminders who played at least three games, and making 34 saves in the gold medal game. He also earned a gold medal at U18 Worlds, serving as Canada’s third goaltender.
One of only two Canadian Hockey League players on the American roster, U.S. captain Blake Fiddler has felt right at home at Rogers Place. The 6-foot-4 defenceman, who plays his club hockey with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, recorded a goal and two assists in the preliminary round, opening the scoring in Wednesday’s win over Germany. Fiddler will face a number of familiar faces in the semifinal; the Texas-born blue-liner won gold with Canada White at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge before trading in the Maple Leaf for the Stars and Stripes, and will line up Friday against nine players he won gold alongside in Charlottetown.
A Look Back
Canada has not lost to its North American neighbours in summer U18 competition since 2003, and has claimed victory in 13 of the 20 all-time meetings (with three ending in ties).
The Canadians and Americans met in a semifinal thriller when Edmonton hosted the Hlinka Gretzky Cup for the first time in 2018. Dylan Cozens tied things up with a buzzer-beater in the third period before Josh Williams scored in overtime, sending Canada to play for gold with a 6-5 victory.
All-time record: Canada leads 13-4-3 (1-0 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 85 United States goals: 46
With its semifinal spot secured, Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team goes in search of a perfect preliminary round at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup when it takes on Sweden in the prelim finale Wednesday at Rogers Place.
Canada’s Winning Streak
Canada stayed perfect and kept its hold on top spot in Group A on Tuesday night, beating Slovakia 5-1. Cameron Schmidt and Luca Romano led the way with two goals apiece, and Émile Guité added one of his own. The Canadians finished 2-for-3 with the power play and were perfect on four penalty kills, including a late five-minute major.
The Swedes flexed their offensive muscle on Tuesday, scoring four goals in each period in a 12-1 romp over Switzerland. Ivar Stenberg finished with four goals and three assists, Milton Gästrin had two goals and six helpers, and Viktor Klingsell added up two goals and five assists for Sweden, which finished with a 55-19 advantage in shots.
The Last Meeting
The last meeting between the teams at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup came in the final prelim game in 2022 in Red Deer. Canada got goals from Calum Ritchie, Zach Benson and Brayden Yager, along with 18 saves from Scott Ratzlaff, to blank the Swedes 3-0 and finish perfect atop Group A.
Most recently, the Canadians and Swedes met in the semifinals of the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship last spring. A four-goal first period – highlighted by a goal and an assist each from Ryder Ritchie and Tij Iginla – seemingly put the Canadians in control, but a furious Swedish comeback provided a thrilling conclusion in what finished as a 5-4 win for Canada.
The Battle for Supremacy
Wherever Matthew Schaefer goes, he leads. And wins. The No. 1 pick in the OHL Draft by the Erie Otters in 2023, the Hamilton native burst onto the national scene at the 2023 Canada Winter Games, wearing the ‘C’ with Ontario and scoring the overtime winner in the gold medal game. Nine months later, Schaefer again served as captain and again took home gold, this time with Canada White at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Then he won gold with Canada at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship (although there was no letter involved as an underager), and now he’s got the ‘C’ on his chest at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. So far, so good in Edmonton; Schaefer has two goals and two assists through two games, leading all defencemen in scoring.
A year ago, three players – Berkly Catton, Trevor Connelly and Adam Benak – led the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in scoring with 10 points in five games. Gästrin almost got there himself on Tuesday. The Örnsköldsvik native opened the scoring and added two assists in the first period, had another goal and two helpers in the second and finished his night with two more assists in the third as his line with Stenberg and Klingsell combined for a ridiculous 22 points in the win. The performance was all the more impressive when you consider Gästrin only recorded 16 points (7-9—16) in 41 games with MODO Hockey in Sweden’s U20 national league. What can the terrific trio do for an encore against Canada?
A Look Back
The head-to-head history has been one-sided in summer U18 competition, which may come as a surprise to some considering the place both countries hold as world hockey powers. But Canada has won 17 of 20 against the Swedes, including eight in a row dating back to 2013.
There is history at Rogers Place as well; when Edmonton first hosted the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2018, it was a Canada-Sweden matchup in the final. Sasha Mutala and Alexis Lafrenière had two goals each in that game as the Canadians erased an early two-goal deficit to earn a 6-2 win and home-ice gold.
All-time record: Canada leads 17-3 (1-1 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 86 Sweden goals: 43
Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team is right back to action Tuesday at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, returning to the ice at Rogers Place to take on Slovakia in the second of three prelim games.
Canada’s Dominance Continues
The Canadians opened their schedule with a statement win Monday, blanking Switzerland 10-0. Cole Reschny led the offensive charge with two goals and three assists, Matthew Schaefer and Émile Guité chipped in with two goals and a helper apiece, and Jack Ivankovic turned aside all 20 shots he faced for the shutout.
Slovakia came up a goal short in a tournament-opening 4-3 overtime loss to Sweden on Monday afternoon, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort; the Slovaks scored twice in the final 8:45 to force an extra period. The Europeans spread around the offence; seven different players recorded points, while Michal Pradel was terrific in a losing effort, making 42 saves.
The Last Meeting
The teams met five days ago in pre-tournament action in Edmonton, with Canada cruising to a 10-1 victory last Thursday. Braeden Cootes scored twice and added an assist, and Guité added a pair of goals for the Canadians, who scored early – two goals in the first 5:31 – and often.
The last tournament meeting came a year ago in Trencin, where Canada set its single-tournament summer U18 scoring record in a 14-4 victory. Michael Misa was the catalyst up front, recording two goals and four assists, while Ryder Ritchie scored a hat trick. In all, 16 Canadians recorded at least one point.
The Future is Bright
Canada has plenty of offensive weapons up front, and it was Reschny’s turn to step up Monday. The native of small-town Macklin, Saskatchewan (pop. 1,247) was terrific for the Victoria Royals this season, recording 59 points (21-38—59) in 61 games, good for fifth in WHL rookie scoring and third among 2007-born players (behind Team Canada teammates Gavin McKenna and Benjamin Kindel). Reschny wants Hlinka Gretzky Cup gold to complete his medal collection – he won silver with Saskatchewan at the 2023 Canada Winter Games and bronze with the Saskatoon Blazers at the 2023 Men’s U18 National Club Championship, where he also earned Top Forward honours.
Andreas Straka is bound for North America this season after being selected fourth overall in the CHL Import Draft by the Quebec Remparts. Straka had quite a 2023-24 season with HK Poprad, making his debut in the Slovak Extraliga as a 16-year-old and representing Slovakia as an underager at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship, recording three points (1-2—3) in seven games. The Slovak roster also include a familiar name in Adam Nemec; his brother, Simon, was the No. 2 pick by the New Jersey Devils in the 2022 NHL Draft. Nemec is a forward, unlike his brother, who posted 57 points (28-29—57) in 43 games HK Nitra in the Slovak U20 league, and, like Straka, made his Extraliga debut, getting into three games with Nitra.
A Look Back
Canada has been absolutely perfect against Slovakia, winning all 18 meetings dating back to 1997.
The 2016 matchup was the lone game to go past 60 minutes; in that one, Maxime Comtois scored his second goal of the game 4:31 into overtime to help Canada stymie a Slovak comeback and earn a tournament-opening 3-2 victory.
All-time record: Canada leads 18-0 (1-0 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 109 Slovakia goals: 33
Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team gets its quest for a 25th summer U18 gold medal underway Monday night when it takes on Switzerland in its preliminary-round opener at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
A New Era for Canadian Hockey
Canada finished its two-game pre-tournament schedule with a 6-4 loss to Czechia on Saturday. Cameron Schmidt scored a goal and set up another, briefly getting the Canadians even with eight minutes to go, but two goals in 10 seconds by the Czechs late in the third period was the difference.
The Swiss erased a two-goal deficit in their exhibition matchup, scoring five goals in less than 14 minutes in the third period to earn a 5-2 win over Germany. Florian Schenk led the charge with two goals and an assist, while Daniele Wagner added a goal and a helper.
A History of Success
The teams met a year ago in the preliminary round in Trencin, Slovakia, a 5-0 win for Canada. Berkly Catton scored a pair of goals, Cole Beaudoin had a goal and an assist and Carter George made 12 saves to help the Canadians close out the prelims on a high.
The last meeting at the U18 level came in the spring in the preliminary round at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship. Porter Martone had a hat trick in that one, and Canada rode a seven-goal second period to an 8-1 victory.
The Stars of Tomorrow
After his performance at U18 Men’s Worlds in the spring, how can we start with anyone other than Gavin McKenna? The Whitehorse native rewrite the record book in Finland, setting Canadian record for goals (10) and points (20) in a single tournament, capped by a hat trick in the gold medal game to help Canada come from behind to beat the U.S. He wasn’t too bad in the regular season, posting 97 points (34-63—97) to earn CHL and WHL rookie of the year honours. So what does the 16-year-old do for an international encore?
Florian Schenk is a name that will soon be more familiar for Canadian hockey fans, at least those on the East Coast. The 6-foot-3, 201-pound forward will be plying his trade this season with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, who selected him at No, 7 in the CHL Import Draft last month. Schenk spent the 2023-24 campaign with SC Bern, posting 12 points (6-6—12) in nine games with the U17 team and 25 (8-17—25) in 42 games with the U20 team. He also had 17 points (6-11—17) in 22 international games with the Swiss U17 program.
A Look Back
Canada has owned the head-to-head history in summer under-18 competition, winning 17 of the 18 meetings. The lone Swiss victory was in the first of those 18, way back in 2001.
The Canadians have won the last three matchups without allowing a goal, a run that began with a 10-0 victory in Edmonton in the 2018 tournament opener, a game in which Peyton Krebs scored twice and added an assist, and Nolan Maier earned a 15-save shutout.
All-time record: Canada leads 17-1 (1-0 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 102 Switzerland goals: 36
The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is back on Canadian ice, with the game’s future stars in Edmonton from Aug. 5-10. It’s the second time the Alberta capital is playing host to the annual summer under-18 showcase – Canada claimed gold in 2018 at Rogers Place.
The Future of Canadian Hockey
Twenty-two players have been named to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team, looking to continue a run of Canadian domination at the event. Let’s take a closer look at the players who will wear the Maple Leaf, and at the tournament itself…
1 – player with a Team Canada parent connection; Jake O’Brien’s mom, Amy Turek, played two games with Canada’s National Women’s Team during the 2000-01 season.
2 – players who did not compete at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and will make their debut in Team Canada colours in Edmonton: Lucas Beckman and Benjamin Kindel
3 – players selected first overall in their respective Canadian Hockey League draft; Gavin McKenna was the No. 1 pick by the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL), Caleb Desnoyers went first to the Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) and Matthew Schaefer was the top selection by the Erie Otters (OHL).
4 – players who competed at the 2023 Men’s U18 National Club Championship; Caleb Desnoyers and Émile Guité (who was named tournament MVP) helped the host Gaulois de Saint-Hyacinthe to a silver medal, while Cole Reschny (selected as Top Forward) and Reese Hamilton earned bronze with the Saskatoon Blazers.
5 – players who helped Canada win a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship last spring in Finland: Caleb Desnoyers, Reese Hamilton, Jack Ivankovic, Gavin McKenna, Matthew Schaefer
8 – Hockey Canada Members represented on the Team Canada roster: Ontario Hockey Federation (8 – Czata, Hopkins, Ivankovic, Martin, O’Brien, Reid, Romano, Schaefer), Hockey Quebec (4 – Beckman, Desnoyers, Guité, Huang), BC Hockey (3 – Kindel, McKenna, Schmidt), Hockey Alberta (2 – Cootes, Smith), Hockey Saskatchewan (2 – Hamilton, Reschny), Hockey Eastern Ontario (1 – Beauchesne), Hockey Manitoba (1 – Kettles), Hockey New Brunswick (1 – Kilfoil)
9 – players who helped Canada White win a gold medal at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I.: Ethan Czata, Caleb Desnoyers, Émile Guité, Tyler Hopkins, Alex Huang, Jack Ivankovic, Cameron Reid, Matthew Schaefer, Cameron Schmidt (who scored the OT winner in the gold medal game)
10 –countries Canada has faced in summer under-18 tournaments since 1991: Belarus, Czechia, Finland, Japan, Russia, Slovakia, Soviet Union, Sweden, Switzerland, United States; the Czechs have been the most frequent foes (Canada is 20-2-2 in 24 all-time meetings).
11 – alumni selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft: Cayden Lindstrom (CAN – CBJ 4th), Ivan Demidov (RUS – MTL 5th), Berkly Catton (CAN – SEA 8th), Zayne Parekh (CAN – CGY 9th), Sam Dickinson (CAN – SJS 11th), Adam Jiricek (CZE – STL 16th), Trevor Connelly (USA – VGK 19th), Cole Beaudoin (CAN – UHC 23rd), Liam Greentree (CAN – LAK 26th), Emil Hemming (FIN – DAL 29th), Ben Danford (CAN – TOR 31st)
13 – points by a Canadian at one summer under-18 tournament; the single-tournament record is co-held by Jeff Friesen (1993) and Brett McLean (1995).
19 – members of the Kitchener Rangers to represent Canada in summer under-18 competition since 1991, more than any other CHL team; Cameron Reid and Luca Romano are repping the Rangers in Edmonton.
20 – points by Gavin McKenna (as an underage player) at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship; the Whitehorse native set a record for points by a Canadian, as well as the single-tournament Canadian record for goals (10).
24 – gold medals (in 32 tries) for Canada in summer under-18 tournaments since 1991; Canadian success has included runs of seven (1996-2002) and eight (2008-15) consecutive golds.
87 – minutes (and 59 seconds) played in the gold medal game at the 2023 Canada Winter Games before Matthew Schaefer scored the double-overtime winner to give Ontario a 3-2 win over Saskatchewan; in all, seven players from that game are on the Team Canada roster (Beauchesne, Hamilton, Hopkins, Ivankovic, Martin, Reschny, Schaefer).
97 – points during the 2023-24 season by Gavin McKenna; the most of any player on the Canadian roster; McKenna finished with 34 goals and 63 assists, sitting 12th in WHL scoring and earning CHL and WHL rookie of the year honours.
102 – all-time wins in 124 games by Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team (an .826 win percentage); the Canadians have lost only 14 games in regulation time and have outscored their opponents 644-260.
654 – players to wear the Maple Leaf at a summer under-18 tournament since 1991; that number includes three who have been inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame: Paul Kariya (1991), Chris Pronger (1991), Jarome Iginla (1994).
CALGARY, Alberta – Twenty-two players have been selected to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team as it looks to defend its gold medal at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Aug. 5-10 in Edmonton, Alberta.
Two goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards — representing eight Members—were selected by head scout Byron Bonora (Brooks, AB) and Dave Brown (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON/Erie, OHL), the U18 lead for the Program of Excellence management group, with input from Scott Salmond (Creston, BC), senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations. Head coach Kris Mallette (Kelowna, BC/Kelowna, WHL) and assistant coaches Gordie Dwyer (Dalhousie, NB/Acadie-Bathurst, LMJHQ) and Ryan Oulahen (Newmarket, ON/North Bay, OHL)also provided input.
Among the 22 players are five who won a gold medal with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship (Desnoyers, Hamilton, Ivankovic, McKenna, Schaefer) and seventeen that suited up at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, including nine who won gold with Canada White (Czata, Desnoyers, Guite, Hopkins, Huang, Ivankovic, Reid, Schaefer, Schmidt).
“This is a group of accomplished athletes that have earned this opportunity to represent their country and defend a gold medal,” Brown said. “The opportunity to play for Canada on home ice isn’t something that happens often, and we’re excited for this group and what lies ahead.”
Prior to the start of the tournament, Team Canada will take on Slovakia on Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. MT/9 p.m. ET at Bill Hunter Arena, and Czechia on Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. MT/9 p.m. ET at the Downtown Community Arena.
Canada opens the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Switzerland on Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET/9:30 p.m. ET. It will also face Slovakia and Sweden in the preliminary round before the tournament concludes with the medal games on Aug. 10.
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast all games from Edmonton; please check local listings for more details.
Canada has won 24 gold medals in 32 years of summer under-18 competition, along with three silver medals and one bronze.
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, X and Instagram.
