4 QMJHLers help Canada to back-to-back golds at U18 Worlds

 A total of 25 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players proudly won gold as Canada topped the podium at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship by defeating Sweden 7-0 in Saturday’s final in Frisco, Texas. The victory gave Canada consecutive gold medals at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship for the first time in its program’s history. 

Having not allowed a goal over the last 144 minutes and 53 seconds of action he saw, Jack Ivankovic (Brampton Steelheads / OHL) recorded his second shutout of the tournament by stopping all 28 shots he faced in Saturday’s final. Brady Martin (Soo Greyhounds / OHL) led all skaters in the gold medal game with two goals, while Jackson Smith (Tri-City Americans / WHL), Xavier Villeneuve (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL), Ethan Czata (Niagara IceDogs / OHL), Braeden Cootes (Seattle Thunderbirds / WHL), and Jack Nesbitt (Windsor Spitfires / OHL) also lit the lamp for Canada.

Named the Top Goalie of the tournament, Ivankovic led all netminders in goals-against average (1.05), save percentage (.960), and shutouts (2) during the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship. In front of Ivankovic, Canada’s blueline contributed 12 goals at the U18s, led by Villeneuve (4G-4A in 7 GP) and Smith (4G-1A in 7 GP), who both recorded four goals in seven games, the most of any defencemen in the tournament. Canadian captain Cootes (6G-6A in 7 GP) led the team in scoring with 12 points through Canada’s undefeated run to a second straight gold medal. Following the gold-medal game, Ivankovic and Martin (3G-8A in 7 GP) were named to the Media All-Star Team.

In total, 27 players from the CHL proudly took home medals at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship (see complete list below), including 13 from the Western Hockey League (WHL), 10 players from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and four from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). 

A total of 37 CHL players participated in the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship (see complete list below), which was the most of any development hockey league in the world. The CHL was the only development hockey league in the world to feature one player on eight of the 10 participating countries at the tournament, showcasing the league’s global impact and commitment to developing elite talent.

Among the 37 CHL players who participated in the event, 25 of them were listed in NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft, including Czech defenceman Radim Mrtka (Seattle Thunderbirds / WHL), Slovakian forward Andreas Straka (Québec Remparts / QMJHL), and German captain Carlos Händel (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL). There were also nine CHL skaters eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft who competed in the tournament, including seven members of Team Canada (Carels, Villeneuve, Di Iorio, Lin, Roobroeck, Rudolph, Verhoeff).

Following Canada’s gold medal victory on Saturday, Ethan Czata (Niagara IceDogs / OHL), Tyler Hopkins (Kingston Frontenacs / OHL), Alex Huang (Chicoutimi Saguenéens / QMJHL), and Cameron Schmidt (Vancouver Giants / WHL) joined Ivankovic, Erie Otters (OHL) defenceman Matthew Schaefer, and Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) forward Caleb Desnoyers as the only players to ever win gold for Team Canada at the U17s, U18s, and Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Team Canada was led by two-time Stanley Cup champion and Guelph Storm head coach Cory Stillman (Guelph Storm / OHL), who served as the squad’s bench boss. He was joined by associate coach Travis Crickard (Saint John Sea Dogs / QMJHL), assistant coach Mathieu Turcotte (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL), and goaltending consultant Dan De Palma (Kamloops Blazers / WHL). 

Since 2002, Canada has now won six gold medals at the IIHF U18 World Championship (2003, 2008, 2013, 2021, 2024, 2025), in addition to one silver (2005) and four bronze (2012, 2014, 2015, 2023).

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QMJHL representatives at 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship:

CANADA (7)
(G) Lucas Beckman (Baie-Comeau Drakkar / QMJHL)
(D) Alex Huang (Chicoutimi Saguenéens / QMJHL)
(D) Xavier Villeneuve (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL)
(F) Liam Kilfoil (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL)

Associate Coach – Travis Crickard (Saint John Sea Dogs / QMJHL)
Assistant Coach – Mathieu Turcotte (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL)
Video Coach – Matthew Smith (Acadie-Bathurst Titan / QMJHL)

GERMANY (1)
(D) Carlos Händel (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL)

SLOVAKIA (1)
(F) Andreas Straka (Québec Remparts / QMJHL)

SWITZERLAND (1)
(D) Elia Pedrotti (Sherbrooke Phoenix / QMJHL)