FRISCO, Texas – Twenty-five players, including 10 from the Ontario Hockey League, have been named to Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team as it begins its gold medal defence at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, taking place April 23–May 3 in Frisco and Allen, Texas.
The roster – made up of three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 14 forwards representing seven Members – was selected by head scout Byron Bonora (Brooks, AB), general manager Scott Walker (Cambridge, ON), and management group member Kyle Turris (New Westminster, BC), with input from Benoit Roy (Sudbury, ON), director of hockey operations.
All 25 players were selected from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), with 10 from the OHL, 11 from the Western Hockey League (WHL), and four from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
10 OHL PLAYERS NAMED TO CANADA’S NATIONAL MEN’S U18 TEAM:
(G) Jack Ivankovic (Brampton Steelheads / OHL)
(D) Quinn Beauchesne (Guelph Storm / OHL)
(F) Ethan Czata (Niagara IceDogs / OHL)
(F) Alessandro Di Iorio (Sarnia Sting / OHL)
(F) Beckham Edwards (Sarnia Sting / OHL)
(F) Tyler Hopkins (Kingston Frontenacs / OHL)
(F) Lev Katzin (Guelph Storm / OHL)
(F) Brady Martin (Soo Greyhounds / OHL)
(F) Jack Nesbitt (Windsor Spitfires / OHL)
(F) Ryan Roobroeck (Niagara IceDogs / OHL)
Michael Misa (Saginaw Spirit / OHL) and Jake O’Brien (Brantford Bulldogs / OHL) were invited but are unable to participate.
General Manager – Scott Walker (Guelph Storm / OHL)
Head Coach – Cory Stillman (Guelph Storm / OHL)
Athletic therapist – Andy Brown (Owen Sound Attack / OHL)
Strength and Conditioning Coach – Sean Young (Ottawa 67’s / OHL)
“The opportunity to represent your country and defend a gold medal is not something that happens often,” Walker said. “These young men have worked hard all season and earned this opportunity to play on the international stage here in Texas. As a staff, we’re excited about the talent, work ethic and character of this group and we are excited to get things going. This tournament is an important step in athlete preparation for the World Juniors, the premier event of the Program of Excellence.”
The roster includes 12 players who won gold with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, including OHL standouts Beauchesne, Czata, Hopkins, Ivankovic and Martin. Seven players also competed at the 2024 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, including four who won gold with Canada White, including Sarnia Sting forward Beckham Edwards.
Canada opens the tournament today against Slovakia (5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT), and will also face Latvia, Finland and Norway in the preliminary round before the tournament concludes with the medal games on May 3.
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast 16 and 10 tournament games, respectively. TSN will broadcast all Team Canada preliminary-round games, as well as the quarterfinals, semifinals and medal games, while RDS will broadcast all Team Canada preliminary-round games, two quarterfinals, the semifinals and medal games.
For more information on the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, please visit the official tournament website at IIHF.com .
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca , or follow along through social media on Facebook , X, Instagram and TikTok .
