Twelve skaters with WHL experience invited to 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase
Calgary, Alta.- Twelve players developed in the Western Hockey League have been invited to represent Canada at the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase.
The weeklong exhibition is the first step on the road to the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship.
A total of 32 skaters will participate in practices, scrimmages and exhibition games against Finland, Sweden and the United States.
The WHL contingent features six defencemen and six forwards, including seven first-round NHL Draft picks and two WHL champions.
2026 NHL sixth-overall pick and Calgary Flames prospect Carson Carels (Prince George Cougars / Cypress River, Man.), Vancouver Canucks first-rounder Braeden Cootes (Prince Albert Raiders / Sherwood Park, Alta.), and Victoria Royals alumnus Keaton Verhoeff (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.) and Cole Reschny (Macklin, Sask.) are all eligible to return from the 2026 World Junior quad, which won bronze in Minnesota.
“We’re excited to announce the 32 players who will attend the World Junior Summer Showcase in Windsor as we begin our preparation for the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship,” National Junior Team General Manager and former WHL executive Alan Millar said. “This is an important opportunity for our staff to evaluate a talented group of players against top international competition while continuing to build our identity as a team. We’re looking forward to seeing this group compete and bringing this showcase to Windsor in front of passionate Canadian hockey fans.”
Jackson Smith (Tri-City Americans / Calgary, Alta.) played parts of three seasons with the Ams, netting 85 points (19G-66A) in 136 regular-season matches before being drafted by Columbus with the 14th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
2025 WHL Rookie of the Year finalist Keaton Verhoeff scored 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points in 63 games in 2024-25. He was selected by the San Jose Sharks with the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Carels, a 2026 WHL Defenceman of the Year finalist, posted a monster 73 points (20G-53) in 58 games in 2025-26 and cracked the WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team. Carels and Verhoeff were the two youngest skaters on Canada’s 2026 World Juniors roster.
Vancouver Giants standout Ryan Lin (Richmond, B.C.) battled through injury to hear his name called 21st overall by the Sharks in June.
He logged 57 points (14G-43A) in his sophomore campaign in the Lower Mainland, surpassing 50 points for a second consecutive season.
2026 WHL Champion Brek Liske (Everett Silvertips / Beausejour, Man.) had a career-best 24-point (7G-17A) campaign under his belt before hitting a new gear in the postseason.
With captain and Anaheim Ducks prospect Tarin Smith sidelined by injury, Liske was elevated to Everett’s top pairing and went off for 17 points (4G-13A) in 18 games, including the championship-clinching goal.
Philadelphia drafted Liske with the 53rd overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NHL Draft.
Daxon Rudolph (Prince Albert Raiders / Lacombe, Alta.) reigned as the highest-drafted active WHLer at the 2026 Draft when Buffalo snapped him up with the fourth-overall selection.
The Raiders alternate captain tied franchise legend Josh Morrissey for single-season strikes by a defenceman with 28, while tacking on 50 assists for 78 points in 68 games. The Defenceman of the Year finalist also tied for the lead in playoff scoring with 27 points (9G-18A) in 19 games while reaching the WHL Championship Series.
Up front, Reschny dominated with 152 points (48G-104A) in 127 regular-season games with the Victoria Royals from 2022-25.
He registered 25 points (9G-16A) in 11 playoff games in 2025 alone before being selected by Calgary with the 18th overall pick that June.
Florida Panthers fourth-rounder Shea Busch (Everett Silvertips / North Vancouver, B.C.) got off to a hot start to the season with 18 points (13G-5A) in 12 games before being sidelined by injury for the remainder of the campaign.
The 19-year-old returned to the ice for the 2026 WHL Playoffs and contributed 13 points (7G-6A) in 16 outings to help the Silvertips hoist the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time in franchise history.
2025 Vancouver Canucks 15th overall pick Braeden Cootes (Prince Albert Raiders / Sherwood Park, Alta.) made his NHL debut at the start of the 2025-26 season before returning to the WHL.
Cootes notched 63 points (24G-39A) in 45 outings with the Seattle Thunderbirds and, post-WHL Trade Deadline, the Prince Albert Raiders. He won the Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s Most Sportsmanlike Player and helped the Raiders reach the Championship Series with 23 (7G-16) postseason points.
Power forward Chase Harrington (Spokane Chiefs / Prince George, B.C.) is coming off a career-best 57-point (28G-29A) season while finishing eighth in the WHL in penalty minutes with 105.
Harrington joined Carels and Reschny in the Flames’ prospect pool when Calgary called his name 36th overall in the second round of the 2026 NHL Draft.
Edmonton Oilers 2025 83rd-overall pick Tommy Lafreniere (Kamloops Blazers / St-Sauveur, Que.) caught fire with 41 goals and 36 assists for 77 points in 67 games to help the Blazers return to the WHL postseason and tie for sixth in goals among all WHLers in 2025-26.
Speedy winger Cameron Schmidt (Victoria Royals / Prince George, B.C.) topped all WHLers with a monster 51 goals, while finishing third in the league points race with 100.
The 2024 Dallas Stars third-round pick was recently acquired by the Victoria Royals after a dominant campaign with the Vancouver Giants and Seattle Thunderbirds.
Landon DuPont (Everett Silvertips / Calgary, Alta.), the first exceptional status defenceman to play in the WHL, was invited to the World Junior Summer Showcase but will suit up for Canada at the upcoming Hlinka Gretzky Cup instead.
The World Junior Summer Showcase runs from July 26-August 1 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ont.
Canada will hold practices on July 27 and 28 before facing off against Sweden on July 29, Finland on July 30 and the United States on August 1.
The 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship kicks off on December 26, 2026, in Edmonton and Red Deer.
| Last name | First name | Most Recent WHL Club | NHL Club | Hometown | Height | Weight | Position |
| Smith | Jackson | Tri-City | Columbus | Calgary, Alta. | 6’4 | 199 | D |
| Verhoeff | Keaton | Victoria | San Jose | Fort Saskatchewan, Sask. | 6’3 | 212 | D |
| Carels | Carson | Prince George | Calgary | Cypress River, Man. | 6’2 | 194 | D |
| Lin | Ryan | Vancouver | San Jose | Richmond, B.C. | 5’11 | 178 | D |
| Liske | Brek | Everett | Philadelphia | Beausejour, Man. | 6’2 | 187 | D |
| Rudolph | Daxon | Prince Albert | Buffalo | Lacome, Alta. | 6’2 | 206 | D |
| Reschny | Cole | Victoria | Calgary | Macklin, Sask. | 5’11 | 187 | F |
| Busch | Shea | Everett | Florida | North Vancouver, B.C. | 6’2 | 216 | F |
| Cootes | Braeden | Prince Albert | Vancouver | Sherwood Park, Alta. | 6’0 | 183 | F |
| Harrington | Chase | Spokane | Calgary | Prince George, B.C. | 6’0 | 194 | F |
| Lafreniere | Tommy | Kamloops | Edmonton | St-Sauveur, Que. | 6’0 | 183 | F |
| Schmidt | Cameron | Victoria | Dallas | Prince George, B.C. | 5’8 | 161 | F |
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