Canada has revealed the 32 players selected to participate in the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase. The event, which serves as an initial evaluation for the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship, will take place from July 26 to August 1 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario. Practices and games will be held, featuring players from Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden.
Among the players attending are Carson Carels and Keaton Verhoeff, both top-10 selections in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft. Carels, chosen by the Calgary Flames with the No. 6 pick, contributed one assist in five games during Canada’s bronze medal finish at the 2026 WJC. The 18-year-old defenseman recorded 73 points in 58 games last season with 20 goals and 53 assists. Verhoeff, selected by the San Jose Sharks at No. 9, had four assists in five games at the 2026 WJC. The 18-year-old defenseman tallied 20 points, including six goals and 14 assists, in 36 games at North Dakota last season.
Carels and Verhoeff are two of eight players from Canada’s 2026 WJC roster who will be at the camp. Other returning players include goalie Jack Ivankovic of the Nashville Predators, defenseman Cameron Reid also from the Predators, and forwards Braeden Cootes of the Vancouver Canucks, Caleb Desnoyers of the Utah Mammoth, Brady Martin of the Predators, and Cole Reschny of the Calgary Flames.
Draft Selections and Prospects Attending
Seven Canadian players from the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft are slated to attend the showcase. In addition to Carels and Verhoeff, this group includes forwards Caleb Malhotra (Canucks, No. 3), Tynan Lawrence (St. Louis Blues, No. 11), and Ethan Belchetz (Utah Mammoth, No. 17). Defensemen Daxon Rudolph (Buffalo Sabres, No. 4) and Ryan Lin (Sharks, No. 21) will also participate.
Forward Dimian Zhilkin, a projected first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, is also attending. The 17-year-old right wing accumulated 75 points, with 36 goals and 39 assists, in 59 games last season for Saginaw in the Ontario Hockey League.
Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, is eligible for the 2027 WJC but was not invited to this camp. McKenna was second among all players at the 2026 WJC with 14 points, consisting of four goals and 10 assists, in seven games. He also scored one goal in five games at the 2025 WJC.
Guelph Storm Players and Coaching Staff
Three players from the Guelph Storm are among those heading to Windsor for the showcase: Tyler Hopkins, Ethan Czata, and Ryan Roobroeck. The Guelph Storm and the WHL’s Victoria Royals each have three players on the roster, leading all CHL teams. Hopkins, a Toronto Maple Leafs third-round pick in 2025, was traded to Guelph on December 28. He recorded 13 goals and 25 points in 27 games after the trade.
Czata, a Tampa Bay prospect, had 53 points in 63 games as captain of the Niagara IceDogs last season and played three games with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. He was traded to Guelph on June 2. Roobroeck, drafted in the second round of the 2026 NHL Draft by Chicago, scored 30 goals and 58 points in 49 games with the IceDogs last year before being traded to Guelph on June 19.
Misha Donskov will coach Canada at the showcase. He previously served as an assistant coach for the 2026 WJC team. Canada aims to win the WJC for the first time since 2023, following a third-place finish in 2026 and consecutive fifth-place finishes prior to that.
The 2027 WJC is scheduled to be held in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, from December 26, 2026, to January 5, 2027. Canada will compete in Group A, alongside Czechia, Latvia, Norway, and Switzerland, with preliminary-round games at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Source: nhl.com
