Canada set for 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Canada, led by 24 CHLers, will hope to repeat as Hlinka Gretzky Cup champions when the 2023 tournament gets underway Monday from Czechia and Slovakia.
A year ago, Canada dominated the 2022 competition on home ice in Red Deer, AB., as they outscored opponents 34-3 on route to a 23rd gold medal at the tournament.
This year, Canada will hope to make it back-to-back titles for the first time since 2017 and 2018.
Canada have been drawn into Group B where they will face Finland, Slovakia and Switzerland in the round-robin.
Berkly Catton (SPO) and Gabriel D’Aigle (VIC) will pull on the Canadian jersey for the second time in 2023 after they helped Canada win bronze at the 2023 U18 World Championships earlier this year. CHL and QMJHL Rookie of the Year, Maxim Massé, as well as the OHL’s and WHL’s Rookie of the Year, Michael Misa and Ryder Ritchie respectively, were all named to Canada’s roster. Misa is the only 2007 born-player on the team.
Sarina Sting head coach Alan Letang will lead Canada. Letang was an assistant coach last year at the tournament as well as at the 2023 World Juniors as he collected two international gold medals.
Canada beat Hungary 7-1 on July 27 in its first of two pre-tournament games as Cayden Lindstrom (MH) had four points (2G, 2A) while Catton (SPO) and Zayne Parekh (SAG) each had two assists. They followed that up with a 5-0 victory over Czechia on July 29 as D’Aigle (22 saves) and Carter George (eight saves) blanked the hosts while Carson Wetsch, Porter Martone, Ritchie, Misa and Justin Poirier scored.
The 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup begins July 31 while the final will be contested Aug. 5. All of Canada’s games can be seen live on TSN while a complete tournament schedule can be found here.
24 CHL players named to Canada’s 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Roster:
Goaltenders:
Gabriel D’Aigle (Victoriaville/QMJHL)
Carter George (Owen Sound/OHL)
Ryan Leenders (Mississauga/OHL)
Defencemen:
Anthony Cristoforo (Windsor/OHL)
Ben Danford (Oshawa/OHL)
Sam Dickinson (London/OHL)
Charlie Elick (Brandon/WHL)
Frankie Marrelli (Ottawa/OHL)
Henry Mews (Ottawa/OHL)
Zayne Parekh (Saginaw/OHL)
Forwards:
Cole Beaudoin (Barrie/OHL)
Berkly Catton (Spokane/WHL)
Jordan Gavin (Tri-City/WHL)
Liam Greentree (Windsor/OHL)
Ollie Josephson (Red Deer/WHL)
Cayden Lindstrom (Medicine Hat/WHL)
Porter Martone (Mississauga/OHL)
Maxim Massé (Chicoutimi/QMJHL)
Roger McQueen (Brandon/WHL)
Michael Misa (Saginaw/OHL)
Justin Poirier (Baie-Comeau/QMJHL)
Ryder Ritchie (Prince Albert/WHL)
Malcolm Spence (Erie/OHL)
Carson Wetsch (Calgary/WHL)
