Wolves’ Head Coach Scott Barney to lead Canada White at 2025 U17 World Challenge, Greyhounds’ Taylor, Petes’ Darling named to support staffs
COACHING STAFFS NAMED FOR 2025 U17 WORLD CHALLENGE
Scott Barney, Ryan McDonald to lead Canadian U17 teams
CALGARY, Alberta – Hockey Canada has announced the coaching and support staffs that will lead Canada’s national under-17 teams through the 2025 U17 World Challenge.
Ryan McDonald (Prince Albert, WHL) and Scott Barney (Oshawa, ON / Sudbury Wolves, OHL) will serve as head coaches of Canada Red and Canada White, respectively, for the 2025 U17 World Challenge.
“It’s always truly an honour to be asked to represent your country at a prestigious event.” Barney said on being named the Head Coach of Canada White. “I’m looking forward to working with all the elite U17 players across Canada while representing the Sudbury Wolves.”
Joining McDonald on Canada Red is assistant coaches Mathieu Gravel (Drummondville, QMJHL) and Brendan Taylor (Oakville, ON / Soo Greyhounds, OHL), as well as goaltending consultant Jeff Harvey (Saskatoon, WHL) and video coach Enrick Corneau (Chicoutimi, QMJHL).
On Canada White, Barney will be joined by assistant coaches Kyle Chipchura (Edmonton, WHL), Joël Perrault (Rimouski, QMJHL) as well as video coach Alex Darling (Chelsea, QC / Peterborough, OHL).
“It’s truly an honour to be recognized by Hockey Canada and be named as the Video Coach for Canada White,” said Darling. “I can’t wait to get out to Truro and get to work.”
“As the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, we are thrilled with the coaching staff we have assembled from across the CHL to help introduce our players to the program,” added Millar. “They all bring a unique skill set and are committed to the development of players on and off the ice, which we know will help set a strong foundation for future success within our program.”
Barney recently completed his first season as head coach of the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves. Prior to joining Sudbury, he spent six seasons with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Humboldt Broncos, joining the club as an assistant coach in 2018 before being promoted to head coach midway through the season. In 2019, Barney also assumed the role of general manager. Barney led the Broncos to six straight playoff appearances and two division titles, finishing with a record of 169-71-15. Internationally, he guided Canada West to a gold medal as head coach at the 2023 World Junior A Challenge. He was previously named as an assistant coach for Canada West in 2019.
Taylor has spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Prior to joining the Greyhounds, Taylor spent six seasons with the Mississauga Steelheads as an assistant coach (2017-22) after serving as the video coach in 2016-17. Taylor was also an assistant coach with the Oakville Blades in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL).
McDonald was named head coach of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders in May after finishing the 2024-25 season as the interim head coach. He also served as an assistant coach with the Raiders for parts of five seasons (2020-25). McDonald won a gold medal as an assistant coach with Canada White at the 2024 U17 World Challenge and won silver as an assistant with Team Saskatchewan at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. He also spent four seasons with the Warman Wildcats AAA program at both the U15 and U18 level.
Chipchura just wrapped up his second season with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. Chipchura took on the role of assistant coach this season after being named as a development coach in 2023-24. Prior to joining the Oil Kings, Chipchura spent two seasons with the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) serving as head coach with the U17 Prep Team following one season as an assistant coach of the U15 Prep Team.
Gravel recently finished his third season as assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs in his second stint with the team. In his return, he helped the Voltigeurs capture the Gilles Courteau Trophy in 2024. He previously spent one season as an assistant coach in 2016-17. Prior to his return to Drummondville, Gravel was an assistant coach with Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (2017-2022), winning the U SPORTS championship in 2022. He also held head coaching positions with Ligue de Hockey Préparatoire Scolaire (U15) and the Ligue de Développement du Hockey M18 AAA. Internationally, Gravel won a silver medal with Canada Red at the 2018 U17 World Challenge, and he has also served as a skills coach for the U17 program (2016-2018).
Perrault recently completed his second season as head coach of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Océanic. Perrault guided the Océanic to a berth in the QMJHL Finals before the hosts were eliminated from playoff contention at the 2025 Memorial Cup. Perreault held various coaching roles from 2016 to 2023 in Quebec at the U15, Espoir and U18 levels, including earning coach of the year honours with the U18 AAA Saint-Eustache Vikings during the 2022-23 season.
For a full list of staff for Canada’s national under-17 teams, please click here.
For more information on Hockey Canada, Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team and Canada’s National Under-17 program, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.
