[{"id":269013,"date":"2026-08-04T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=269013"},"modified":"2026-08-04T12:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:05:00","slug":"nhl-prospect-watch-los-angeles-kings-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/nhl-prospect-watch-los-angeles-kings-5","title":{"rendered":"NHL Prospect Watch: Los Angeles Kings"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the lead-up to the 2026-27 hockey season, we\u2019re diving into the WHL prospect pool for every NHL team. To be included in this list, a player must be recently drafted, signed to an NHL contract, or meet the NHL\u2019s criteria for rookie status.<\/em><\/p>\n

These Los Angeles Kings prospects are fit for a crown.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Vojtech Cihar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kelowna Rockets standout Vojtech Cihar conquered new lands in 2025-26. After a difficult start that saw him put up eight points (4G-4A) in 27 games for HC Energie Karlovy Vary, the 19-year-old was re-energized by a breakout run at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. Cihar netted 12 points (4G-8A) in seven games to help Czechia to silver and earn tournament MVP honours. He went from the Czech national team to the Okanagan, where he erupted for 12 goals (including a hat trick) and 19 assists in 31 regular-season games to close out the campaign and lead the Rockets in postseason scoring with 13 points (6G-7A). While the host Rockets bowed out of the Memorial Cup after round-robin play, Cihar could be back to make a major impact in 2026-27. He was selected by the Kings with the 59th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft and signed his three-year, entry-level deal last December.<\/p>\n

Jakub Dvorak<\/strong><\/p>\n

Six-foot-5, 210-pound shutdown defenceman Jakub Dvorak took big strides forward in his second season of professional hockey with seven points (4G-3A) and 41 penalty minutes in 45 games for the AHL’s Ontario Reign. He set new personal highs on offence, but also raised his plus\/minus from -8 in his rookie season to +6 in 2025-26. The 21-year-old logged 10 points (2G-8A) and a +19 rating in 21 games with the Swift Current Broncos in 2023-24 and helped Czechia to a bronze medal at the 2025 World Juniors. He joined the Kings organization as the 54th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Giorgos Pantelas<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the newest members of the Kings’ stable of prospects, steady defender Giorgos Pantelas is set to debut for the Penticton Vees in 2026-27. The 2026 fifth-round pick (153rd overall) is coming off a solid season with the Brandon Wheat Kings that saw him finish second in scoring among Brandon blueliners with 37 points (6G-31A) and a +19 rating in his draft year. The 18-year-old suited up for the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge and 2026 WHL Prospects Game, where he scored a powerplay goal to help Team East to a 5-4 overtime win. Internationally, Pantelas has represented Canada at the 2024 U17 World Challenge, winning gold, and the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he picked up a bronze medal.<\/p>\n

Will Sharpe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dependable defender Will Sharpe made the most of a midseason trade, putting up a career-best campaign with 29 points (5G-24A) and 44 penalty minutes in 59 games with the Kelowna Rockets and Vancouver Giants. The 6-foot-1, 198-pound blueliner has piled up 84 points (18G-66A) in 185 games over parts of four WHL seasons. Los Angeles called his name with the 216th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2025 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Koehn Ziemmer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The goals may not have come as easily for former Prince George Cougars alternate captain Koehn Ziemmer, but he had some brilliant moments in his first season in the pros. The 6-foot-1, 201-pound forward registered 24 points (11G-13A) in 57 games to sit 10th on the Reign in scoring, while tallying his first AHL hat trick despite rotating in and out of the Reign lineup. The 2023 third-round (78th overall) NHL pick graduated from the WHL as one of the greatest scorers in Cougars history, posting 260 points (128G-132A) in 244 games over parts of six seasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the lead-up to the 2026-27 hockey season, we\u2019re diving into the WHL prospect pool for every NHL team. To be included in this list, a player must be recently drafted, signed to an NHL contract, or meet the NHL\u2019s criteria for rookie status. These Los Angeles Kings prospects are fit for a crown.\u00a0 Vojtech…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":269091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":1638,"name":"Giorgos Pantelas","slug":"giorgos-pantelas","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1638,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","term_order":"854"},{"term_id":2108,"name":"Jakub Dvorak","slug":"jakub-dvorak","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2108,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"996"},{"term_id":1486,"name":"Koehn Ziemmer","slug":"koehn-ziemmer","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1486,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1202"},{"term_id":1043,"name":"nhl prospect watch","slug":"nhl-prospect-watch","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1082,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":136,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1508"},{"term_id":2218,"name":"Vojtech Cihar","slug":"vojtech-cihar","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2218,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2085"},{"term_id":1835,"name":"Will Sharpe","slug":"will-sharpe","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1835,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2273"}],"class_list":["post-269013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-giorgos-pantelas","tag-jakub-dvorak","tag-koehn-ziemmer","tag-nhl-prospect-watch","tag-vojtech-cihar","tag-will-sharpe","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/04120445\/260804_Prospect-Watch-1920_LAK.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/487"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269013"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269047,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269013\/revisions\/269047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":269078,"date":"2026-08-04T09:55:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=269078"},"modified":"2026-08-04T09:55:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:55:31","slug":"hurricanes-sign-czech-forward-oliver-sichtar-to-a-whl-scholarship-and-development-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/hurricanes-sign-czech-forward-oliver-sichtar-to-a-whl-scholarship-and-development-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Hurricanes sign Czech forward Oliver Sichtar to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lethbridge, AB – <\/strong>The Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club have announced the signing of 2008-born import forward Oliver Sichtar to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/p>\n

Sichtar, 18, was selected by the Hurricanes in the second-round (64th<\/sup> overall) of the 2026 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in June. The Brno, Czechia, product spent the 2025-2026 season with the HC Kometa Brno U20 in the Czechia U20 league amassing 23 points (8g-15a) along with 20 penalty minutes in 49 regular season games, finishing sixth in team scoring. He added four points (1g-3a) along with a plus-3 rating in five post-season games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited to welcome Oliver Sichtar to the Hurricanes organization,\u201d said Hurricanes General Manager Barclay Parneta. \u201cOliver is a big, skilled forward with excellent hockey sense who competes hard at both ends of the ice. We believe he has a bright future, and we\u2019re looking forward to helping him continue his development in Lethbridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 6\u20193, 190-pound right-winger collected 24 points (12g-12a) along with four penalty minutes while adding one goal in six playoff games in 2024-2025 with the HC Kometa Brno U17 club. Sichtar spent the 2023-2024 season played in the U16 Division-1 league with IFK Taby HC in Sweden where he totaled nine points (4g-5a) with 27 penalty minutes in 26 regular season games.<\/p>\n

Internationally, Sichtar represented Czechia at the World Under-19 Championship in May helping his country capture a Bronze medal. He skated in seven games for Czechia during the tournament collecting one goal. Sichtar was teammates with fellow Hurricanes signed import player Dominick Byrtus during the tournament. Additionally, he played in 16 games with the Czechia U18 International team collecting five goals during the 2025-2026 campaign.<\/p>\n

Sichtar joins Byrtus as the signed Hurricanes European players for the upcoming 2026-2027 season.<\/p>\n

Season Tickets for the 2026-2027 season, which will mark the Hurricanes 40th<\/sup> Anniversary season in Lethbridge, are now on sale. Premium Season Tickets are also available for an additional $250 per seat. Season Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre and VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club have announced the signing of 2008-born import forward Oliver Sichtar to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement. Sichtar, 18, was selected by the Hurricanes in the second-round (64th overall) of the 2026 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in June. The Brno, Czechia, product spent the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":269083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2470,"name":"Oliver Sichtar","slug":"oliver-sichtar","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2470,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3"},{"term_id":2416,"name":"2026 CHL Import Draft","slug":"2026-chl-import-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2416,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":20,"filter":"raw","term_order":"107"},{"term_id":35,"name":"lethbridge hurricanes","slug":"lethbridge-hurricanes","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":197,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":991,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1264"}],"class_list":["post-269078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-oliver-sichtar","tag-2026-chl-import-draft","tag-lethbridge-hurricanes","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/04095414\/Signed-1920_Sichtar.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269078"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269085,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269078\/revisions\/269085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":269080,"date":"2026-08-04T09:54:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=269080"},"modified":"2026-08-04T09:54:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:54:22","slug":"swift-current-signs-stepan-farushev-to-a-whl-scholarship-and-development-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/swift-current-signs-stepan-farushev-to-a-whl-scholarship-and-development-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Swift Current signs Stepan Farushev to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swift Current, SK<\/strong> \u2013<\/span> The Swift Current Broncos are pleased to announce the signing of 2009-born Russian forward Stepan Farushev to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Farushev was selected by the Broncos with the 91st overall pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

Standing at 6’6″, the Balashikha, Russia product spent the 2025-26 season between Severnaya Zvezda Moskva U17 and MAH Moskva-2 U18. He recorded 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points in 28 games with Severnaya Zvezda before finishing the campaign with MAH Moskva-2 U18, where he registered 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points in just 14 games.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I am incredibly happy to sign with the Swift Current Broncos and become a part of this great organization and look forward to the start of the season,” said Farushev.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Swift Current Broncos are excited to welcome Stepan and his family to the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Swift Current, SK \u2013 The Swift Current Broncos are pleased to announce the signing of 2009-born Russian forward Stepan Farushev to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement. Farushev was selected by the Broncos with the 91st overall pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft. Standing at 6’6″, the Balashikha, Russia product spent the 2025-26 season…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":269082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2469,"name":"Stepan Farushev","slug":"stepan-farushev","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2469,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"4"},{"term_id":2416,"name":"2026 CHL Import Draft","slug":"2026-chl-import-draft","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2416,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":20,"filter":"raw","term_order":"107"},{"term_id":31,"name":"swift current broncos","slug":"swift-current-broncos","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":209,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1037,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1904"}],"class_list":["post-269080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-stepan-farushev","tag-2026-chl-import-draft","tag-swift-current-broncos","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/04095408\/Farushev_Signed-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269080"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269084,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269080\/revisions\/269084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":269071,"date":"2026-08-03T19:46:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T01:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=269071"},"modified":"2026-08-03T19:46:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T01:46:00","slug":"england-and-pue-score-twice-canada-routs-switzerland-7-3-to-open-2026-hlinka-gretzky-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/england-and-pue-score-twice-canada-routs-switzerland-7-3-to-open-2026-hlinka-gretzky-cup","title":{"rendered":"England and Pue score twice, Canada routs Switzerland 7-3 to open 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edmonton, Alta.-\u00a0<\/strong>2027 NHL Draft-eligible Brock England (Seattle Thunderbirds \/ Red Deer, Alta.) and 16-year-old Regina Pats Star Liam Pue (Langley, B.C.) scored twice as Canada routed Switzerland 7-3 to open the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.<\/p>\n

Portland Winterhawks forward Alessandro Domenichelli (Lugano, Sui.) logged a pair of assists in the loss, while the WHL contingent accounted for 10 points.<\/p>\n

England, a 5-foot-11 forward who logged 21 goals in his rookie season with the T-Birds in 2025-26, was named Canada’s Player of the Game.<\/p>\n

The goals poured in fast and furious as the teams combined for six goals in the first nine minutes of the match.<\/p>\n

Canada got off to a dream start as 2027 NHL Draft-eligible defenceman Boston Tait (Wenatchee Wild \/ Estevan, Sask.) broke the puck out of the Canadian zone for an extended offensive zone shift.<\/p>\n

As the squad piled pucks on the Swiss net, England banked a puck off Switzerland’s netminder from behind the net to open the scoring 1:18 into the opening frame.<\/p>\n

Switzerland stormed back with two goals coming 40 seconds apart to take an early lead, with Domenichelli providing the primary assist on his team’s opening goal.<\/p>\n

Upcoming Regina Pats stars Maddox Schultz (Regina, Sask.) and Liam Pue flexed their chemistry by combining for two goals and two assists, despite being the youngest players on the Canadian roster.<\/p>\n

The duo tied the game as Schultz peeled up the wall and dished a backhand centering pass for Pue for a point-blank shot from the slot, with Tait earning a secondary assist.<\/p>\n

While the pair wouldn’t pick up any assists on Canada’s next goal, they helped maintain the pressure before linemate Camryn Warren (North Bay Battalion \/ OHL) restored the home side’s lead.<\/p>\n

Niagara Wolves star Ryerson Egdar (Niagara Wolves \/ OHL) lit the lamp 20 seconds later to make it 4-2 for Canada and chase Ayden Huet from the Swiss crease.<\/p>\n

After Canada Captain and 2025 WHL Champion Landon DuPont (Everett Silvertips \/ Calgary, Alta.) hustled down the ice to force an icing and faceoff in Switzerland’s end, Pue attacked with a sharp wrister off a Schultz faceoff win for his second goal of the evening.<\/p>\n

In the middle frame, Edmonton Oil Kings forward Kayden Stroeder (Saskatoon, Sask.) took advantage of the familiar ice by wiring a pass to Benjamin Veitch (Newfound Growlers \/\u00a0 QMJHL) for a redirection at the edge of Switzerland’s net to make it 6-2.<\/p>\n

England kept the train rolling with a tremendous shorthanded effort in the final period, gaining the puck off a faceoff in his own end, streaking up the ice, chipping the puck to himself off the wall, mustering a shot on net and burying his own rebound to close out the scoring.<\/p>\n

Canada (1-0-0-0) is back in action against Slovakia (0-0-0-0) on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. MT.<\/p>\n

NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spokane Chiefs forward Gavin Burcar scored a hat trick for the United States as the defending gold medalists opened with a 6-4 win over Czechia… Incoming Brandon Wheat King Colin Grubb also scored, with Penticton Vees defender Brooks DeMars picking up an assist… Kamloops Blazers goaltender Kaedon Tate made 24 stops for an .857 save percentage in the win… Newly-signed Edmonton Oil Kings forward Lukas Kachlir scored twice for Czechia in the loss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edmonton, Alta.-\u00a02027 NHL Draft-eligible Brock England (Seattle Thunderbirds \/ Red Deer, Alta.) and 16-year-old Regina Pats Star Liam Pue (Langley, B.C.) scored twice as Canada routed Switzerland 7-3 to open the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Portland Winterhawks forward Alessandro Domenichelli (Lugano, Sui.) logged a pair of assists in the loss, while the WHL contingent accounted…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":269075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2468,"name":"Alessandro Domenichelli","slug":"alessandro-domenichelli","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2468,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"5"},{"term_id":2424,"name":"2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup","slug":"2026-hlinka-gretzky-cup","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2424,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw","term_order":"108"},{"term_id":2251,"name":"Boston Tait","slug":"boston-tait","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2251,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"279"},{"term_id":1670,"name":"Brock England","slug":"brock-england","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1670,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"357"},{"term_id":1671,"name":"Kayden Stroeder","slug":"kayden-stroeder","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1671,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1177"},{"term_id":1265,"name":"Landon DuPont","slug":"landon-dupont","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1265,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":59,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1246"},{"term_id":2110,"name":"Liam Pue","slug":"liam-pue","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2110,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1271"},{"term_id":1924,"name":"Maddox Schultz","slug":"maddox-schultz","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1924,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1333"}],"class_list":["post-269071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-alessandro-domenichelli","tag-2026-hlinka-gretzky-cup","tag-boston-tait","tag-brock-england","tag-kayden-stroeder","tag-landon-dupont","tag-liam-pue","tag-maddox-schultz","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/03194505\/Game-One_Final-Score_Hlinka-Gretzky-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/487"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269071"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269077,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269071\/revisions\/269077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":268992,"date":"2026-08-03T15:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=268992"},"modified":"2026-08-04T10:58:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T16:58:55","slug":"nhl-prospect-watch-florida-panthers-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/nhl-prospect-watch-florida-panthers-5","title":{"rendered":"NHL Prospect Watch: Florida Panthers"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the lead-up to the 2026-27 hockey season, we\u2019re diving into the WHL prospect pool for every NHL team. To be included in this list, a player must be recently drafted, signed to an NHL contract, or meet the NHL\u2019s criteria for rookie status.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Florida Panthers’ prospect pool features three recent WHL Champions.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Marek Alscher<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound defenceman made his NHL debut in April of 2026 and stayed with the Panthers for their last four games of the regular season. The team went 3-1-0 over that stretch, with Alscher averaging more than 20 minutes on the ice while picking up three assists and a +4 rating. The 22-year-old stayed steady in his second season in the professional ranks, notching 11 points (3G-8A) in 52 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers before getting called up to the show. Alscher, from Kladno, Czechia, spent three seasons with the Portland Winterhawks, bagging 66 points (22G-44A) over 178 regular-season games, while helping the squad reach the 2024 WHL Championship Series. He was drafted by the Panthers with the 93rd overall pick in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Shea Busch<\/strong><\/p>\n

A season that could have easily gone off the rails turned into the comeback of a lifetime for North Vancouver, B.C.’s Shea Busch. The 6-foot-3, 216-pound winger was off to a hot start with 13 goals and five assists in the first 12 games of the campaign with the Everett Silvertips, but suffered an upper-body injury that left him sidelined until the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs. Busch scored in his return to the ice, went on a six-game point streak, and ended up with 13 points (7G-6A) in 16 games to clinch Everett’s first WHL Championship, highlighted by a hat trick in the title match. He added another assist as the Silvertips battled to the Memorial Cup Final and is currently representing Canada at the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase in hopes of representing Canada in IIHF competition for the first time in his career. Busch, 19, was selected with the 128th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Arvid Drott<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stockholm, Sweden’s Arvid Drott is gearing up for his first North American season after signing a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Medicine Hat Tigers, who chose him with the 59th pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft. The 6-foot-187-pound winger posted 25 points (15G-19A) in 28 appearances with Djurgardens IF U20 side, in addition to one call-up to Djurgarden’s SHL squad. Florida snapped him up with the 192nd overall pick in the sixth round of the 2025 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Brendan Dunphy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Twenty-year-old Brendan Dunphy spent 2025-26 with the University of Connecticut, where he tallied six points (2G-4A) in 37 outings. The 6-foot-5, 207-pound rearguard joined the Wenatchee Wild last season, where he put up 22 points (4G-18A) en route to hearing his name called\u00a0in the seventh round (197th overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Jonas Kemps<\/strong><\/p>\n

Six-foot-6, 196-pound defenceman Jonas Kemps is about to embark on his rookie season with the Seattle Thunderbirds after signing with the club in May. The Sebastopol, California product spent last season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel, where he logged nine points (2G-7A) in 57 tilts. He was drafted with the 98th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2026 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Gracyn Sawchyn<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former Edmonton Oil Kings alternate captain handled plenty of adversity in his first season of professional hockey with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. He rattled off 23 points (6G-17A) in 35 games, but missed a large chunk of time after suffering an upper-body injury in January. He was able to return to close out the season in April and finished sixth on the Checkers in points-per-game. The 6-foot, 154-pound forward spent three seasons in the WHL with the Thunderbirds and Oil Kings, racking up 200 points (67G-133A) in 166 games. Sawchyn captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup with the T-Birds in 2023 and cracked the WHL East Division Second All-Star Team in 2024-25. Now 21, Sawchyn was picked up with the 63rd overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Hunter St. Martin<\/strong><\/p>\n

The speedy Tigers graduate registered 13 points (5G-8A) in 46 games in his first spin with the Checkers after winning the WHL in 2025. St. Martin, 21, earned his entry-level deal with Florida after being selected 193rd overall in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound winger spent four seasons with the Tabbies, posting 133 points (71G-62A) in 209 games, highlighted by a 39-goal run in 2024-25 that saw the Tigers finish first in the Eastern Conference. The Edmonton, Alta. native recorded 17 points (7G-10A), highlighted by seven points in the Final, to hoist the Ed Chynoweth Cup and advance to the Memorial Cup Final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the lead-up to the 2026-27 hockey season, we\u2019re diving into the WHL prospect pool for every NHL team. To be included in this list, a player must be recently drafted, signed to an NHL contract, or meet the NHL\u2019s criteria for rookie status. The Florida Panthers’ prospect pool features three recent WHL Champions. Marek…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":269070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2445,"name":"Arvid Drott","slug":"arvid-drott","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2445,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"204"},{"term_id":1725,"name":"Brendan Dunphy","slug":"brendan-dunphy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1725,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"328"},{"term_id":1644,"name":"Gracyn Sawchyn","slug":"gracyn-sawchyn","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1644,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw","term_order":"862"},{"term_id":1676,"name":"Hunter St. Martin","slug":"hunter-st-martin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1676,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"926"},{"term_id":2340,"name":"Jonas Kemps","slug":"jonas-kemps","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2340,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1090"},{"term_id":1485,"name":"Josh Davies","slug":"josh-davies","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1485,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1113"},{"term_id":2162,"name":"Marek Alscher","slug":"marek-alscher","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2162,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1346"},{"term_id":1043,"name":"nhl prospect watch","slug":"nhl-prospect-watch","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1082,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":136,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1508"}],"class_list":["post-268992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-arvid-drott","tag-brendan-dunphy","tag-gracyn-sawchyn","tag-hunter-st-martin","tag-jonas-kemps","tag-josh-davies","tag-marek-alscher","tag-nhl-prospect-watch","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/07\/03151158\/260731_Prospect-Watch-1920_FLA.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/487"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":268993,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268992\/revisions\/268993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":269066,"date":"2026-08-01T17:21:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T23:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=269066"},"modified":"2026-08-01T17:21:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T23:21:37","slug":"dominick-byrtus-signs-whl-scholarship-and-development-with-hurricanes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/dominick-byrtus-signs-whl-scholarship-and-development-with-hurricanes","title":{"rendered":"Dominick Byrtus signs WHL Scholarship and Development with Hurricanes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lethbridge, AB – <\/strong>The Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club have announced the signing of 2009-born defenceman Dominick Byrtus to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/p>\n

Byrtus, 17, was selected by the Hurricanes in the first-round (3rd<\/sup> overall) of the 2026 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in June. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, product is a dual citizen of both the United States and Czechia. During the 2025-2026 season, he amassed 12 points (4g-8a) along with 16 penalty minutes in 23 regular season games with HC Ocelari Trinec U20 team before adding seven assists and 11 penalty minutes in 10 post-season games. Byrtus also appeared in 22 regular season games on loan to HC Frydek-Mistek club in the Czechia2 league where he collected two points (1g-1a) along with a minus-1 rating.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very excited to\u00a0welcome Dominick to the Hurricanes. He is a smart, mobile defenseman who moves the puck well, competes hard and plays with confidence,\u201d said Hurricanes General Manager Barclay Parneta. \u201cWe believe his game will translate well to the WHL, and we look forward to helping him continue his development in Lethbridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 5\u201910, 190-pound defenceman is currently representing Czechia at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup alongside fellow \u2018Canes Import Draft pick Oliver Vanha. Byrtus has represented Czechia previously at the U17 and U18 levels. He skated in seven games recording three assists at the World Under-18 Championship while also skating in four games being held pointless with the Czechia U17 team at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.<\/p>\n

During the 2025-2026 season, the left-shot rearguard appeared in 23 games with the Czechia U18 club in international play amassing nine points (4g-5a) along with six penalty minutes while also skating in four international contents with the Czechia U17 team. He helped Czechia earn a Bronze medal at the World U18 Championships.<\/p>\n

Byrtus is the first of the \u2018Canes trio of Czechia-born players from the 2026 CHL Import Draft to sign with the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

Season Tickets for the 2026-2027 season, which will mark the Hurricanes 40th<\/sup> Anniversary season in Lethbridge, are now on sale. Premium Season Tickets are also available for an additional $250 per seat. Season Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre and VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club have announced the signing of 2009-born defenceman Dominick Byrtus to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement. Byrtus, 17, was selected by the Hurricanes in the first-round (3rd overall) of the 2026 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in June. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, product is a dual…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":269068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2467,"name":"Dominick Byrtus","slug":"dominick-byrtus","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2467,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"6"},{"term_id":35,"name":"lethbridge hurricanes","slug":"lethbridge-hurricanes","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":197,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":991,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1264"}],"class_list":["post-269066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-dominick-byrtus","tag-lethbridge-hurricanes","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/01172128\/Signed-1920_Byrtus.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269066"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269069,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269066\/revisions\/269069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":269060,"date":"2026-08-01T11:23:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T17:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/?p=269060"},"modified":"2026-08-01T11:23:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T17:23:21","slug":"2026-whl-champion-dupont-to-captain-canada-at-hlinka-gretzky-cup-pats-schultz-to-serve-as-alternate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/article\/2026-whl-champion-dupont-to-captain-canada-at-hlinka-gretzky-cup-pats-schultz-to-serve-as-alternate","title":{"rendered":"2026 WHL Champion DuPont to captain Canada at Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Pats’ Schultz to serve as alternate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edmonton, Alta.-\u00a0<\/strong>Everett Silvertips defenceman and 2026 WHL Champion Landon DuPont will captain Canada as the country eyes a return to the top of the podium at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.<\/p>\n

The projected top 2027 NHL Draft pick had been invited to participate in the World Junior Summer Showcase, but opted to return to the prestigious U18 tournament in hopes of improving on the bronze medal he won in 2025.<\/p>\n

“It’s<\/span> exciting,” DuPont said during Canada’s training camp. “<\/span>We<\/span> want<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> team<\/span> that<\/span> kind<\/span> of<\/span> starts<\/span> the<\/span> year<\/span> off<\/span> on<\/span> a<\/span> good<\/span> note<\/span> and<\/span> try<\/span> to<\/span> bring<\/span> gold<\/span> back<\/span> to<\/span> Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

I think just coming in here, as you know, the only guy that played last year, (I’m) trying to lead the guys as much as I can, but everyone in that room is a leader themselves, so it’s been pretty fun.<\/p>\n

Regina Pats forward Maddox Schultz and Saint John Sea Dogs star Alexis Joseph will serve as alternate captains.<\/p>\n

DuPont, 17, is the first-ever defenceman granted exceptional status to play in the WHL full-time in his 15-year-old season.<\/p>\n

The Calgarian’s sophomore campaign saw him pick up 73 points (18G-55A) and a +59 rating in 63 games to help the Silvertips capture a second consecutive Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions and earn a nod as a finalist for WHL Defenceman of the Year.<\/p>\n

He added another 23 (5G-18A) postseason points as the Silvertips hoisted the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time in franchise history.<\/p>\n

Schultz, 16, utilized the Western Canadian Development Model to suit up for 34 games with the Regina Pats as an underager in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

The Regina, Sask. native impressed in the small sample size with 29 points (15G-14A) with the WHL club, in addition to a tremendous 60-point (30G-30A) run in 21 games with the U18AAA Regina Pat Canadians.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

“He’s<\/span> a\u00a0super<\/span> special<\/span> player,” Schultz said of playing alongside DuPont. “<\/span>Seeing<\/span> what<\/span> he<\/span> did<\/span> last<\/span> year<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> dub,<\/span> it’s<\/span> really<\/span> special…<\/span> The<\/span> way<\/span> he<\/span> carries<\/span> himself,<\/span> the<\/span> way<\/span> he<\/span> treats<\/span> his<\/span> teammates<\/span> is<\/span> unbelievable.<\/span> He’s<\/span> someone,<\/span> you<\/span> know,<\/span> I<\/span> really<\/span> look<\/span> up<\/span> to.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I<\/span> think<\/span> if<\/span> we<\/span> have<\/span> everyone<\/span> bought<\/span> in<\/span> and<\/span> everyone<\/span> really<\/span> connected, <\/span>I<\/span> think<\/span> we<\/span> can<\/span> do<\/span> something<\/span> special<\/span> here.<\/span> Right<\/span> now,<\/span> we’re<\/span> just<\/span> building<\/span> family<\/span> and<\/span> building,<\/span> you<\/span> know,<\/span> really<\/span> close<\/span> relationships<\/span> with<\/span> everybody.<\/span> The<\/span> end<\/span> goal<\/span> is<\/span> winning<\/span> gold.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Nine Western Hockey League skaters will represent Canada at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.<\/p>\n

Beyond DuPont and Schultz, the Western contingent features goaltender Leif Oaten (Lethbridge Hurricanes), defenders Boston Tait (Wenatchee Wild) and Brock Cripps (Prince Albert Raiders), as well as forwards Brock England (Seattle Thunderbirds), Ben Harvey (Prince Albert Raiders), Kayden Stroeder (Edmonton Oil Kings) and Liam Pue (Regina Pats).<\/p>\n

Canada kicks off the tournament against Switzerland on Monday, August 3, at 5:00 p.m. MT at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta.<\/p>\n

The 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup runs from August 3 to August 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edmonton, Alta.-\u00a0Everett Silvertips defenceman and 2026 WHL Champion Landon DuPont will captain Canada as the country eyes a return to the top of the podium at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The projected top 2027 NHL Draft pick had been invited to participate in the World Junior Summer Showcase, but opted to return to the prestigious…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":269065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":1265,"name":"Landon DuPont","slug":"landon-dupont","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1265,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":59,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1246"},{"term_id":1924,"name":"Maddox 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leads Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team with nine players set to compete at 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary, Alta. \u2013<\/strong> Nine Western Hockey League players have been named to the roster for Canada\u2019s Summer Under-18 Team for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Hockey Canada announced Friday.<\/p>\n

The WHL will be represented by five forwards, three defencemen, and one goaltender on the Canadian roster at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which is scheduled for Monday, August 3, through Saturday, August 8, in Edmonton, Alta.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s 22-player roster features nine players from the WHL, eight players from the Ontario Hockey League, and five players from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s National Men\u2019s Summer Under-18 Team \u2013 WHL Players<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Last Name<\/strong><\/td>\nFirst Name<\/strong><\/td>\nWHL Club<\/strong><\/td>\nHometown<\/strong><\/td>\nHt<\/strong><\/td>\nWt<\/strong><\/td>\nPos<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oaten<\/td>\nLeif<\/td>\nLethbridge Hurricanes<\/td>\nCalgary, Alta.<\/td>\n6\u20193\u201d<\/td>\n185<\/td>\nG<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tait<\/td>\nBoston<\/td>\nWenatchee Wild<\/td>\nEstevan, Sask.<\/td>\n6\u20191\u201d<\/td>\n198<\/td>\nD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DuPont<\/td>\nLandon<\/td>\nEverett Silvertips<\/td>\nCalgary, Alta.<\/td>\n5\u201911\u201d<\/td>\n192<\/td>\nD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cripps<\/td>\nBrock<\/td>\nPrince Albert Raiders<\/td>\nVictoria, B.C.<\/td>\n5\u201911\u201d<\/td>\n166<\/td>\nD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
England<\/td>\nBrock<\/td>\nSeattle Thunderbirds<\/td>\nRed Deer, Alta.<\/td>\n5\u201911\u201d<\/td>\n175<\/td>\nF<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Schultz<\/td>\nMaddox<\/td>\nRegina Pats<\/td>\nRegina, Sask.<\/td>\n5\u201910\u201d<\/td>\n183<\/td>\nF<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Harvey<\/td>\nBen<\/td>\nPrince Albert Raiders<\/td>\nEdmonton, Alta.<\/td>\n5\u201911\u201d<\/td>\n187<\/td>\nF<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stroeder<\/td>\nKayden<\/td>\nEdmonton Oil Kings<\/td>\nSaskatoon, Sask.<\/td>\n6\u20190\u201d<\/td>\n165<\/td>\nF<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pue<\/td>\nLiam<\/td>\nRegina Pats<\/td>\nLangley, B.C.<\/td>\n6\u20191\u201d<\/td>\n188<\/td>\nF<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n

Canada\u2019s roster was selected by Program of Excellence (POE) general manager Alan Millar (Tottenham, Ont.), alongside POE head scout Byron Bonora (Brooks, Alta.) and U18 assistant general manager Yanick Lemay (Drummondville Voltigeurs \/ QMJHL; Drummondville, Que.), with input from Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, and Benoit Roy (Sudbury, Ont.), director of hockey operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a competitive training camp and pre-tournament game against Sweden, we are excited to announce the 22 players who have earned the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup on home ice in Edmonton,\u201d Millar said. \u201cThis is a highly skilled group of young players that is motivated to accomplish our goal of winning a gold medal, and we know our players are excited to wear the Maple Leaf and play in front of Canadian fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

DuPont is the lone returner to Canada\u2019s National Men\u2019s Summer Under-18 Team \u2013 in 2025, he helped his country claim bronze at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.<\/p>\n

Also representing Canada\u2019s National Men\u2019s Summer Under-18 Team are assistant coaches Ryan McDonald (Prince Albert Raiders \/ WHL; Prince Albert, Sask.) and Kyle Chipchura (Edmonton Oil Kings \/ WHL; Westlock, Alta.), goaltending coach Jeff Harvey (Saskatoon Blades \/ WHL; St. Albert, Alta.) and athletic therapist Taylor Cochrane (Kamloops Blazers \/ WHL; Elk Point, Alta.).<\/p>\n

Canada opens the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Switzerland on Monday, August 3 at 5 p.m. MT. Canada then faces Slovakia on Tuesday, August 4 and Sweden on Wednesday, August 5 to close out preliminary action before the tournament concludes with the medal games on Saturday, August 8.<\/p>\n

Canada has one pre-tournament game remaining Saturday, August 1, at 5 p.m. MT, when they play Czechia at Rogers Place in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

Leif Oaten, Lethbridge Hurricanes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Oaten<\/a> made his WHL debut during the 2025-26 campaign, dressing in 31 games for the Hurricanes. Selected in the third round (58th overall) of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, the Calgary product went 6-19-2-0 and recorded one shutout in his first season with the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

Oaten\u2019s first career WHL shutout came February 27, 2026, on home ice, when he made 21 saves to backstop the Hurricanes to a 6-0 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. He made a career high 41 saves on December 28, 2025, as the Hurricanes dropped a 5-2 road decision to the Edmonton Oil Kings. On six occasions last season, Oaten faced 40+ shots while turning in performances of 35+ saves in six outings.<\/p>\n

Boston Tait, Wenatchee Wild <\/strong><\/p>\n

The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Tait<\/a> made his WHL debut during the 2024-25 season, appearing in six games for the Wild. He joined Wenatchee on a full-time basis in 2025-26, dressing in 62 games and logging 23 points (5G-18A). Over 68 career WHL regular season games, the product of Estevan, Sask., has collected 25 points (5G-20A). Tait was selected by the Wild in the first round (12th overall) of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

Tait recorded his first career WHL goal December 7, 2025, in a 3-2 road win over the Calgary Hitmen. He was named Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week for the week of December 1-8, 2025.<\/p>\n

Landon DuPont, Everett Silvertips<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11, 192-pound DuPont<\/a> is the first defenceman to be granted Exceptional Player status in WHL history. He earned the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL Rookie of the Year in 2024-25 after securing 60 points (17G-43A) in 64 games. He was also named CHL Rookie of the Year for his outstanding performance as a 15-year-old. During the 2025-26 season, he posted 73 points (18G-55A) in 63 games and was named to the WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team. He played a key role in helping the Everett Silvertips claim the franchise\u2019s first WHL Championship in 2026.<\/p>\n

Selected by the Silvertips with the first-overall pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, DuPont tallied 133 points (35G-98A) over 127 career WHL regular season appearances from 2024-25 through 2025-26. He added another 38 points (10G-28A) in 28 career WHL Playoff games.<\/p>\n

Though the Silvertips fell in the Memorial Cup finale to the Kitchener Rangers, DuPont was named to the tournament all-star team.<\/p>\n

Brock Cripps, Prince Albert Raiders<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11, 166-pound Cripps<\/a> enjoyed an outstanding 2025-26 season with the Prince Albert Raiders, registering 37 points (6G-31A) in 62 games. Selected by the Raiders in the first round (second overall) of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, Cripps made his WHL debut during the 2024-25 season, appearing in four contests.<\/p>\n

In 2025-26, the product of Victoria, B.C., was named a finalist for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL Rookie of the Year. On three occasions this past season, Cripps was named Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week.<\/p>\n

He helped the Raiders claim the WHL\u2019s Eastern Conference Championship, advancing to the 2026 WHL Championship Series. Cripps posted an impressive 21 points (4G-17A) in 20 post-season appearances to boost the Raiders.<\/p>\n

Brock England, Seattle Thunderbirds<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound England<\/a> made his WHL debut during the 2024-25 season, recording three points (2G-1A) in three games with the Thunderbirds. The 2025-26 season saw the product of Red Deer, Alta., collect 51 points (21G-30A) in 64 outings. His 21 goals ranked first among all 16-year-old rookies in the WHL.<\/p>\n

Selected by the Thunderbirds in the first round (11th overall) of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, England registered 17 multi-point performances during the 2025-26 season. He was named Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week for the week of November 10-18, 2025. In 67\u00a0 career WHL regular season games, he has secured 54 points (23G-31A).<\/p>\n

Maddox Schultz, Regina Pats<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 5-foot-10, 183-pound Schultz<\/a> is one of only two 2010-born players on Canada\u2019s roster, joining Pats teammate Liam Pue. Schultz appeared in 34 regular season games with the Pats under the Western Canadian Development Model, and tallied 29 points (15G-14A) during the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

Selected by the Pats with the first-overall pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, Schultz\u2019s coming out party was arguably February 11, 2026, when he secured his first career WHL hat trick in a thrilling 7-6 overtime win at Saskatoon. In total, Schultz notched seven multi-point performances during the 2025-26 season. He also dressed in two playoff games for the Pats, notching one assist.<\/p>\n

Ben Harvey, Prince Albert Raiders<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11, 187-pound Harvey<\/a> posted 27 points (14G-13A) in 45 games for the Raiders last season, after making his WHL debut with the Club during the 2024-25 campaign. Hailing from Edmonton, Alta., Harvey also helped the Raiders advance to the 2026 WHL Championship Series by adding another six points (4G-2A) in 19 post-season appearances.<\/p>\n

Selected by the Raiders in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, Harvey was named Sandman WHL Rookie of the Week for the week of March 9-15. That week, he enjoyed a career-best six-point performance (3G-3A) in a resounding 11-0 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors on March 13.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kayden Stroeder, Edmonton Oil Kings<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 6-foot, 165-pound Stroeder<\/a> recorded 32 points (13G-19A) in 55 games during the 2025-26 season with Edmonton. Selected by the Oil Kings in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, Stroeder debuted during the 2024-25 campaign, appearing in 16 games and securing eight points (5G-3A). Over 71 career WHL regular season outings, the native of Saskatoon, Sask., has 40 points (18G-22A).<\/p>\n

Stroeder made his WHL debut December 14, 2024, securing one assist in a 7-3 home win over the Swift Current Broncos. He followed up with his first career WHL goal and a multi-point performance (2G-1A) in a 5-1 road win at Red Deer on December 27, 2024. On March 18, 2026, Stroeder collected his first career WHL hat trick in a 5-1 home win over the Calgary Hitmen.<\/p>\n

Liam Pue, Regina Pats<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 6-foot-1, 188-pound Pue<\/a> is the one of only two 2010-born players on Canada\u2019s roster, joining Pats teammate Maddox Schultz. Pue appeared in 34 regular season games with the Pats under the Western Canadian Development Model, and secured 16 points (6G-10A) during the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

Selected by the Pats in the first round (third overall) of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, the product of Langley, B.C., scored one goal in two playoff games for Regina this past spring. He scored his first career WHL goal in his first career WHL game on September 19, 2025, at Swift Current. His first career multi-point performance (1G-1A) came December 5, 2025, on home ice against the Brandon Wheat Kings.<\/p>\n

About the Western Hockey League<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regarded as the world\u2019s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada\u2019s National Junior Hockey Team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nine WHL players will compete for Canada at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton from August 3-8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":269052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[{"term_id":2424,"name":"2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup","slug":"2026-hlinka-gretzky-cup","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2424,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw","term_order":"108"},{"term_id":1675,"name":"Ben Harvey","slug":"ben-harvey","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1675,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"241"},{"term_id":2251,"name":"Boston Tait","slug":"boston-tait","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2251,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"279"},{"term_id":1670,"name":"Brock England","slug":"brock-england","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1670,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"357"},{"term_id":1671,"name":"Kayden Stroeder","slug":"kayden-stroeder","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1671,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1177"},{"term_id":1265,"name":"Landon DuPont","slug":"landon-dupont","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1265,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":59,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1246"},{"term_id":2183,"name":"Leif Oaten","slug":"leif-oaten","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2183,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1259"},{"term_id":2110,"name":"Liam Pue","slug":"liam-pue","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2110,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1271"},{"term_id":1924,"name":"Maddox Schultz","slug":"maddox-schultz","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1924,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1333"}],"class_list":["post-269049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-2026-hlinka-gretzky-cup","tag-ben-harvey","tag-boston-tait","tag-brock-england","tag-kayden-stroeder","tag-landon-dupont","tag-leif-oaten","tag-liam-pue","tag-maddox-schultz","category-1110","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/07\/31175406\/Hlinka-Gretzky-1920-1.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269049"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269053,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269049\/revisions\/269053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]