2024 NHL Draft-eligible forward Josephson added to Team Canada for 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship

Calgary, Alta.- Red Deer Rebels forward Ollie Josephson will join Team Canada ahead of the 2024 IIHF World U18 Championship.

The tournament runs from Thursday, April 25 to Sunday, May 5 in Espoo and Vantaa, Finland.

Josephson previously suited up for Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team, winning a gold medal at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

The 17-year-old is fresh off his second full season with the Red Deer Rebels, where he scored 12 goals and added 35 assists for 47 points in 68 regular-season games.

Josephson tallied two goals and three assists for five points in nine playoff contests with Red Deer.

The 6-foot, 180-pound centre is ranked 40th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting in the agency’s final rankings ahead of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, which is set for June 28 and 29.

Canada’s final pre-tournament game is set to take place against Norway on Tuesday, April 23.

Josephson and the rest of Team Canada will begin Canada’s quest for gold on Thursday, April 25 at 10:00 a.m. MST against Sweden.

Canada will face Czechia on April 26, Switzerland on April 28, and close out preliminary-round action against Kazakhstan on April 30.

The semifinals will take place on May 4 before the all-important medal games on May 5.

Since 2002, Canada has captured four gold medals at the IIHF U18 World Championship (2003, 2008, 2013, 2021), as well as a silver medal (2005) and four bronze (2012, 2014, 2015, 2023).