Coaching staff for Team CHL named for the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada

After helping Canada to a third straight gold medal at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Kris Mallette (Kelowna Rockets), Gordie Dwyer (Acadie-Bathurst Titan), & Ryan Oulahen (North Bay Battalion) return to the bench to lead Team CHL at the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge

The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is proud to announce the coaching staff that will lead Team CHL at the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada. The latter is a new event that will see the top first-year NHL Draft-eligible prospects from the CHL face off against USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP) Under-18 Team in a two-game series on November 26 in London, Ont., and November 27 in Oshawa, Ont.

With representation from the CHL’s three Member Leagues in its coaching staff, Kris Mallette (Kelowna Rockets / WHL) will lead Team CHL as its head coach, while Gordie Dwyer (Acadie-Bathurst Titan / QMJHL) and Ryan Oulahen (North Bay Battalion / OHL) will join him on the bench as assistant coaches. All three recently helped Team Canada to a third consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup this past August, and they will reprise the roles they served in Edmonton but this time for the CHL at its newest event.

Building off of one of hockey’s greatest rivalries between Canada and the United States, the CHL USA Prospects Challenge will see the top prospects from the CHL’s Member Leagues – Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) – compete against those from the U.S. National Under-18 Team. 

Fans interested in buying tickets for either game can do so online (Game 1 – London; Game 2 – Oshawa). The first game will take place on Tuesday, November 26 at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ont., while the second contest will be held the following night on Wednesday, November 27 at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ont. 

“We are excited to be bringing on board three coaches with the level of experience Kris, Gordie, and Ryan have to lead our Team CHL at this first-ever CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada,” said Dan MacKenzie, President of the CHL. “All three have extensive experience coaching in the CHL and internationally. Having recently worked with a number of our 2025 NHL Draft prospects at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where they captured gold as part of that team’s coaching staff, Kris, Gordie, and Ryan will be excellent coaches to lead the talented group of players from the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL who will represent the CHL at this new event.”

“I feel very fortunate and honoured to be given the opportunity to represent the CHL. It’s obviously somewhere that I’ve been for coming up into my eleventh season as a coach and then my time as a player too,” said Kris Mallette, head coach of the Kelowna Rockets and Team CHL. “Having a relationship with some of these players in a high-pressure environment I think will help because it’s built some trust between myself and those players. This event will be a great showcase for the players within the WHL and players across the CHL. We as a staff have the opportunity to be the first to try and have some success at this event so I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

Players for the CHL team will be provided by NHL Central Scouting as selected by the NHL’s 32 clubs with the CHL’s coaching staff playing a role in identifying the final 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders who will be chosen to compete for Team CHL at the 2024 CHL USA Prospects Challenge. The roster for Team CHL is expected to be announced by the end of October.

Mallette is currently in his fifth season (2020-24) as the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL), having previously served as an assistant coach with the club for six seasons (2014-20). During his time as an assistant coach with the Rockets, Mallette won a WHL championship and helped the Rockets reach the Memorial Cup final in 2015. Internationally, he’s won three gold medals with Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, two as an assistant (2022 & 2023), and his most recent one as the team’s head coach in 2024. He also earned a silver medal as the head coach of Canada Red at the 2021 Capital City Challenge. Before his time behind the bench, Mallette was a defenceman for four seasons in the WHL with the Kelowna Rockets and Moose Jaw Warriors. As a player, he was also selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft and enjoyed a nine-year career playing professional hockey.

Since 2022, Dwyer has served as the head coach and general manager of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Now in his third season with the Titan, Dwyer previously spent time as the head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs, Shawinigan Cataractes, Charlottetown Islanders, and Prince Edward Island Rocket. This past summer, Dwyer won gold with Team Canada at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton. He also earned gold as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championship and won a bronze medal a pair of times – once as Canada’s head coach at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games and the other as an assistant coach at the 2012 IIHF U18 World Championship. Prior to becoming a coach, Dwyer played four seasons as a forward in the QMJHL with the Québec Remparts, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Beauport Harfangs, Laval Titan Collège Français, and Hull Olympiques, where he won a Gilles-Courteau Trophy in 1995. He also played professionally for 11 years, including games over five seasons in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, and Montreal Canadiens.

Oulahen is in his sixth season as head coach of the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Before that, he spent three seasons as head coach of the Flint Firebirds and six seasons as an assistant coach with the Battalion (2010-16). Alongside Mallette and Dwyer, Oulahen helped Canada to a third straight gold medal at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton. Additionally, on the international stage, Oulahen was also behind the bench at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 2014 (assistant coach, Canada Red), 2015 (assistant coach, Canada Black), and 2017 (head coach, Canada White). He also served as an assistant at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, winning gold. A former captain during his playing days in the OHL with the Battalion, Oulahen played three seasons as a forward for the franchise he now coaches. He was later drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fifth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and played four seasons with their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. 

Set to be a part of the calendar over the next three seasons, the CHL USA Prospects Challenge will see players from the CHL and NTDP’s U18 team compete before hundreds of NHL scouts and thousands of fans in an effort to improve their draft stock ahead of the upcoming NHL Draft. Much like other national events in the CHL, the hosting duties of the CHL USA Prospects Challenge will rotate between the CHL’s Member League markets each year.