Team Canada’s 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship campaign begins tomorrow with their first preliminary game against Sweden. While for many players it will mark their debut in the tournament, for head coach Dale Hunter and his brother Mark Hunter – serving as part of the management group – they are aiming to continue their gold-medal feat from 2020 and guide Canada back to the podium after back-to-back quarter-final exits to Czechia in 2024 and 2025.
“Initially we told the team that finishing fifth wasn’t what we wanted, but that’s in the past now,” Dale said. “We have a different group, different ideas, different everything. We remember it, but it’s gone.”
Over the 2024-25 OHL season with the London Knights, Dale reached two historic milestones. He became just the second coach in OHL and CHL history to record 1,000 regular-season wins, and later guided London to its third Memorial Cup championship under his leadership – tying Don Hay for the most titles by a head coach. All three of Hunter’s championships have come with the Knights, a feat unmatched by any other CHL coach.
Alongside Vice President and GM, Mark Hunter, he also steered London to its sixth OHL championship, winning back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025. The Knights dominated the 2025 playoffs with a 16-1 record, joining an elite group of teams to capture the championship with one or fewer losses.
The Hunters’ only previous World Junior involvement came in 2020, when they steered Team Canada to a dramatic comeback victory over Russia in Ostrava, Czechia. Trailing 3-1 in the third period of the gold-medal game, Canada erupted for three goals to take the lead, with the game-winning goal coming off a breakaway from Akil Thomas (Niagara/Peterborough) with just four-minutes to play. Just moments later, they would catch a fortunate break when a clearing attempt struck a TSN camera above the penalty box, negating what could have been a costly delay-of-game penalty. The 4-3 win snapped Canada’s European gold-medal drought, which had stretched across three tournaments since 2008.
Now, the brothers are back, looking to replicate that success in Minnesota and dethrone the Americans, who are chasing a third consecutive gold on home soil.
“As a player or coach, every chance to represent Team Canada is special,” Dale said. “It’s a challenge, it’s fun, and it’s going to be a battle. Every team is strong, and we’ll have to be ready.”
Canada’s Upcoming Schedule:
- Dec. 17 vs. Sweden (Preliminary)
- Dec. 20 vs. Sweden (Preliminary)
- Dec. 23 vs. Denmark (Preliminary)
- Dec. 26 vs. Czechia (Round Robin)
- Dec. 27 vs. Latvia (Round Robin)
- Dec. 29 vs. Denmark (Round Robin)
- Dec. 31 vs. Finland (Round Robin)
Related Articles:
- Fifteen Past and Present OHL Players Named to Canada’s NJT Training Camp Roster
- Dale Hunter Named Head Coach of Canada’s National Junior Team
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As the official Canadian broadcast partners of the IIHF World Junior Championship, TSN and RDS will broadcast all of Canada’s games; please check local listings for details.
For more information on Hockey Canada and the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, please visit HockeyCanada.ca and iihf.com, or follow through social media on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.
