Fourteen OHL players named to Canada’s National Junior Team

December 13, 2024

The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is proud to announce that 24 CHL players will wear the Maple Leaf with Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship (see complete list below), which is scheduled to take place from December 26 – January 5 in Ottawa, Ontario.

Specifically, there are 14 players from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), eight from the Western Hockey League (WHL), and two from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) who will represent Team Canada. Among the CHL players set to represent Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship are four returnees from last year’s team: defenceman Oliver Bonk (London Knights / OHL), forward Easton Cowan (London Knights / OHL), forward Carson Rehkopf (Brampton Steelheads / OHL), and forward Brayden Yager (Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL).

The group of 14 forwards is highlighted by 16-year-old Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL), who is the youngest player to be selected for Team Canada. Set to turn 17 in a week from today, 2026 NHL Draft prospect McKenna leads the CHL in scoring with 60 points (19G-41A) in 30 games this season. Joining him up front will be QMJHL champion Ethan Gauthier (Drummondville Voltigeurs / QMJHL), who came into camp having recorded points in seven straight games (4G-9A over that stretch), which includes five outings with two points or more.

Fresh off their experience at the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada, forward Porter Martone (Brampton Steelheads / OHL), defenceman Matthew Schaefer (Erie Otters / OHL), and goalie Jack Ivankovic (Brampton Steelheads / OHL) were the three 2025 NHL Draft-eligible players on Team Canada.

In addition to Schaefer, Sam Dickinson (London Knights / OHL) who leads all CHL defencemen in scoring with 46 points (15G-31A) this season is one of eight defencemen on Team Canada, a group that also includes 2023 WHL Champion Sawyer Mynio (Seattle Thunderbirds / WHL) and Tanner Molendyk (Saskatoon Blades / WHL), who was selected for last year’s team but missed the 2024 tournament due to an injury.

In net, Canada will be led by Carson Bjarnason (Brandon Wheat Kings / WHL), Carter George (Owen Sound Attack / OHL), and Ivankovic, who have helped their country to a gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in each of the last three years.

In total, 19 CHL clubs are represented in Team Canada led by the London Knights (OHL) and Brampton Steelheads (OHL) who each have three players, followed by the Barrie Colts (OHL) who have a pair of players.

Team Canada will be led by head coach Dave Cameron (Ottawa 67’s / OHL), who returns to take the reins after leading Canada to a gold medal at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship. He will be joined by assistant coaches Sylvain Favreau (Drummondville Voltigeurs / QMJHL), Mike Johnston (Portland Winterhawks / WHL), and Chris Lazary (Saginaw Spirit / OHL), as well as goaltending consultant Dan De Palma (Kamloops Blazers / WHL).

QUICK FACTS

With 24 CHL players of the 25 chosen to represent Team Canada, the CHL accounts for over 95% of the Canadian roster for the 2025 World Juniors.
The 14 OHL players representing Team Canada at the World Juniors are the most for the Ontario Hockey League since 1980.
In total, six players on Team Canada have previously participated in a Memorial Cup and won a league title in either the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL (Gauthier, Cowan, Bonk, Dickinson, Yager & Mynio).
18 of 24 CHL players on Canada’s roster have also previously won gold at a Hlinka Gretzky Cup and helped their country along its current streak of three straight first-place finishes at that event.
Over the last year, seven players on Team Canada won gold at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship (Beaudoin, George, Ivankovic, Luchanko, Martone, McKenna, Schaefer), while three captured a gold medal at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (Ivankovic, McKenna, Schaefer).
Schaefer & Ivankovic are two of just three players in history to win gold for Team Canada at the U17s, U18s, and Hlinka Gretzky Cup. They’ll now aim to become the first two players to ever win gold at those three events along with the World Juniors. Should they be successful, they would also reach the top of the podium at a fourth straight international tournament representing Canada.
McKenna will be just the second player from Yukon to represent Canada at the World Juniors following in the footsteps of WHL alumnus Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes) who achieved the feat in 2020 & 2021.
Pinelli, Mynio, and Akey will represent their country for the first time in their careers at the 2025 World Juniors.

Canada’s National Junior Team will now travel to Petawawa, Ontario, for a four-day training camp at the Silver Dart Arena, Dec. 15-18, in preparation for the 2025 World Juniors. Team Canada will also take on Switzerland, Sweden, and Czechia in pre-tournament action on the Road to the World Juniors.

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day with four games, which includes Canada taking on Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre at 7:30 p.m. ET. TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will once again provide extensive coverage of the event, broadcasting all 29 tournament games and all three Team Canada pre-tournament games.

At last year’s 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden, there were 63 CHL players (including 21 on Team Canada) who either played in the tournament or were a part of their country’s 23-man roster, which represented more than 25% of the players who participated in the 2024 World Juniors.

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Junior Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.

LIST OF CHL PLAYERS & STAFF ON CANADA’S 2025 NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM

Goalies (3)
(G) Carson Bjarnason (Brandon Wheat Kings / WHL)
(G) Carter George (Owen Sound Attack / OHL)
(G) Jack Ivankovic (Brampton Steelheads / OHL)

Defencemen (8)
(D) Beau Akey (Barrie Colts / OHL)
(D) Oliver Bonk (London Knights / OHL)
(D) Sam Dickinson (London Knights / OHL)
(D) Andrew Gibson (Soo Greyhounds / OHL)
(D) Tanner Molendyk (Saskatoon Blades / WHL)
(D) Sawyer Mynio (Seattle Thunderbirds / WHL)
(D) Caden Price (Kelowna Rockets / WHL)
(D) Matthew Schaefer (Erie Otters / OHL)

Forwards (13)
(F) Cole Beaudoin (Barrie Colts / OHL)
(F) Mathieu Cataford (Rimouski Océanic / QMJHL)
(F) Berkly Catton (Spokane Chiefs / WHL)
(F) Easton Cowan (London Knights / OHL)
(F) Ethan Gauthier (Drummondville Voltigeurs / QMJHL)
(F) Tanner Howe (Calgary Hitmen / WHL)
(F) Jett Luchanko (Guelph Storm / OHL)
(F) Porter Martone (Brampton Steelheads / OHL)
(F) Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL)
(F) Luca Pinelli (Ottawa 67’s / OHL)
(F) Carson Rehkopf (Brampton Steelheads / OHL)
(F) Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals / OHL)
(F) Brayden Yager (Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL)

Head Coach – Dave Cameron (Ottawa 67’s / OHL)
Assistant Coach – Sylvain Favreau (Drummondville Voltigeurs / QMJHL)
Assistant Coach – Mike Johnston (Portland Winterhawks / WHL)
Assistant Coach – Chris Lazary (Saginaw Spirit / OHL)
Goaltending Consultant – Dan De Palma (Kamloops Blazers / WHL),
Management Group – Peter Anholt (Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL)
Management Group – Brent Seabrooke (Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL alumnus)
Athletic Therapist – Andy Brown (Owen Sound Attack / OHL)
Team Physician – Dr. R.J. MacKenzie (Cape Breton Eagles / QMJHL)
Equipment Manager – Chris Cook (Brantford Bulldogs / OHL)
Equipment Manager – Chris Hamilton (Ottawa 67’s / OHL)
Strength and Conditioning Coach – Sean Young (Ottawa 67’s / OHL)