Hockey Canada has announced the 44 players who will wear the Maple Leaf with Canada Red and Canada White at the 2026 U17 World Challenge, set for Nov. 1-7 at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville.
All 44 players have been drafted by Canadian Hockey League teams, including 18 from the Ontario Hockey League, 17 from the Western Hockey League and nine from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
Two players (Schultz, Pue) won a gold medal with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and a silver medal with Canada White at the 2025 U17 World Challenge.
“We are excited to unveil the 44 athletes who have earned the opportunity to represent Canada at the U17 World Challenge in Oakville, as this is an important step in their development and progression through the Program of Excellence,” Program of Excellence general manager Alan Millar said in a statement. “Many of these players will wear the Maple Leaf for the first time and be introduced to international competition, and we know all 44 are excited to play for Canada and attempt to win a fourth-consecutive gold medal.”
The 2026 U17 World Challenge kicks off Nov. 1 with Canada White taking on Czechia and Canada Red matching up against Finland. Teams will play two preliminary-round games before the second- and third-place teams in Group A and B cross over for the quarterfinals on Nov. 5.
The first-place teams in each group will advance to the semifinals on Nov. 6, and the tournament will conclude with medal games on Nov. 7. The event also features pre-tournament games at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex on Oct. 30.
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will provide coverage of the medal games.
The U17 World Challenge is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. The last four gold medal games have featured at least one Canadian team, with Canada White winning gold in 2023 and 2024, and Canada Red claiming gold for the first time in 2025. The tournament has consistently featured future NHL draft picks, including former first-overall picks Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Alexis Lafrenière, Owen Power, Macklin Celebrini, and Matthew Schaefer, among many others.