The perennial powerhouse of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Canada will once again bring a formidable roster to the 2025 edition of the annual U-18 summer tournament, which runs Aug. 11 to 16 in Brno, Czechia and Trenčín, Slovakia.

“We are excited to unveil the 25 players who have earned the opportunity to represent Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, as we believe this is an elite group that brings international experience and a determination to continue our success at the tournament,” said GM Alan Millar. “Our selection camp was highly competitive and provided an opportunity for our players to showcase themselves against the top talent in the country, and we believe we have assembled a roster that will compete for gold and wear the maple leaf with pride in Czechia and Slovakia.”

Every player on the roster will be making his Hlinka Gretzky Cup debut but five players won gold with Canada at last spring’s IIHF U-18 World Championship – Carson Carels, Alessandro Di Iorio, Beckham Edwards, Ryan Lin, Daxon Rudolph and Keaton Verhoeff.

While this tournament – and in particular, Canada’s roster – is often a who’s who of the following summer’s NHL Entry Draft, this team won’t include projected No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, who was born in late 2007 and is therefore ineligible. It does, however, include possible top-10 picks Verhoeff, Lin, Rudolph, Carels, Ethan Belchetz, Tynan Lawrence and Mathis Preston.

Canada has won the last three Hlinka Gretzky Cups and, overall, has won 25 of the 33 editions of the summer U-18 tournament that have been held since 1991 – including two separate streaks of eight in a row.

Before the tournament begins on Monday, Canada plays exhibition games against the Hungarian national U-20 team on Thursday in Budapest and against Slovakia on Saturday in Piešťany. 

Click here for the complete tournament schedule. 

Venues, Schedule For 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup The Czech Ice Hockey Association and Hockey Slovakia jointly announced this week the

Goaltenders: Gavin Betts (Kingston, OHL); Carter Esler (Spokane, WHL); Jason Schaubel (Kitchener, OHL).

Defensemen: Carson Carels (Prince George, WHL); Cameron Chartrand (Saint John, QMJHL); Callum Croskery (Sault Ste. Marie, OHL); Landon DuPont (Everett, WHL);  Ryan Lin (Vancouver, WHL); Giorgos Pantelas (Brandon, WHL); Daxon Rudolph (Prince Albert, WHL);  Keaton Verhoeff (North Dakota, NCAA).

Forwards: Ethan Belchetz (Windsor, OHL); Alessandro Di Iorio (Sarnia, OHL); Beckham Edwards (Sarnia, OHL); Colin Fitzgerald (Peterborough, OHL); Tynan Lawrence (Muskegon, USHL); Jean-Christoph Lemieux (Windsor, OHL); Pierce Mbuyi (Owen Sound, OHL); Mathis Preston (Spokane, WHL); Thomas Rousseau (Sherbrooke, QMJHL); Liam Ruck (Medicine Hat, WHL); Markus Ruck (Medicine Hat, WHL); Adam Valentini (Kitchener, OHL); Cooper Williams (Saskatoon, WHL); Dimian Zhilkin (Saginaw, OHL).

Head Coach: Mathieu Turcotte. Assistant Coaches: Travis Crickard, Rick Steadman.

Photo © OIS/Chloe Knott-Imagn Images: Daxon Rudolph captaining Canada at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon-do, Korea. 

Other team rosters announced so far:

Czechs Reveal 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup RosterThe Czech Ice Hockey Association announced on Monday its roster for this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which runs Aug. 9 to 14 in Brno, Czechia and Trenčín, Slovakia. The Czechs have lost in the final to Canada in each of the past two years.

Finland’s Roster For 2025 Hlinka Gretzky CupFinland’s roster for this summer’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup does not feature any returnees from last year’s team but two defensemen played at the IIHF U-18 World Championships: Juho Piiparinen and Samu Alalauri. As well, Max Laatikainen played some games with the U-18 national team last season.