Levi Harper makes final U18 World Championship roster for Team USA
Bratislava, Slovakia – Spirit defenseman Levi Harper has been named to Team USA’s final roster for the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship. Harper will compete for gold beginning on Wednesday, April 22nd as the Americans open their preliminary round against Czechia.
Harper has just finished a standout rookie season after the Spirit took him in the 3rd round of the 2025 OHL Priority Selection. A two-point performance in his September 19th OHL debut propelled him to a 12G-45A—57P season, appearing in all 68 games. His assist and point totals were both rookie records by a Spirit defenseman, overtaking the ones by Markus Niemelainen (26 assists) and Zayne Parekh (37 points).
The Tampa, Fla. native led all rookie OHL defensemen in goals, assists, and points this season. He finished fifth in scoring (57 points) among the entire field of league blueliners and second in assists (45) to only Windsor’s 2006-born Carson Woodall. Harper had three separate point streaks of five games or longer in 2025-26. On November 30th, he was named the OHL’s Rookie of the Week thanks to a string of four assists in three games.
Harper already has international hardware in his trophy case—he was a key piece of Team USA’s gold medal at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup with four goals and an assist in five games. No other defenseman had more goals in that tournament.
Each of Team USA’s preliminary games can be watched live on NHL Network (Spectrum Ch. 819, DIRECTV Ch. 215). For the full schedule at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, click here.
The full release from Team USA can be found here. Also of note, Spirit prospects Brady Knowling (Goaltender, 3rd round, 2024) and Tyler Martyniuk (Defenseman, 6th round, 2024) have been named to Team USA as well.
Team USA’s Preliminary Round Schedule:
- Wednesday, April 22nd vs Czechia (10:00am EST)
- Friday, April 24th vs Denmark (10:00am EST)
- Saturday, April 25th vs Sweden (10:00am EST)
- Monday, April 27th vs Germany (10:00am EST)
