As the Canadians cut three players from their world junior roster, they had mixed results in their first pre-tournament game against Sweden.
Hockey Canada is close to determining its 2026 World Junior Championship roster after cutting three players on Thursday.
Although the squad's still expected to cut one netminder, Hockey Canada announced it returned forwards Jake O'Brien and Marek Vanacker and defender Jackson Smith to their club teams.
Vanacker and O'Brien will return to the OHL powerhouse Brantford Bulldogs, while Smith will head back to Penn State in the NCAA.
The cuts at forward were about as expected. O'Brien and Vanacker were on the bubble coming into training camp.
Cutting Smith was somewhat surprising, as he is having a solid freshman season in the NCAA and brought two-way play to the Canadian blueline. Draft-eligible Carson Carels and undrafted defenseman Ethan Mackenzie seemed to be potentially on the cutting block, but both avoided the first round of cuts.
While Team Canada has reached the official roster size for the tournament, it has often opted to bring two goaltenders instead of three. With Carter George and Jack Ivankovic fairly planted as the top two netminders after representing Canada last year, Joshua Ravensbergen seems to be the odd man out. That would bring the roster down to two goalies, eight defensemen and 14 forwards.
There is one scenario where Canada would be forced to make additional cuts to either the forward or defense group, however.
If the San Jose Sharks loan defensemen Sam Dickinson or the Seattle Kraken loan forward Berkly Catton, Canada would be forced to cut an additional player at either position. Of the two players, Catton seems like the more likely player to be loaned, but he's currently on the injured reserve. Hockey Canada would certainly welcome the additional firepower both of those players would bring.
Here is how Hockey Canada’s roster currently stands before breaking down how the players performed against Sweden in Wednesday's pre-tournament game.
Current Team Canada World Junior Roster
Forwards
Michael Misa
Gavin McKenna
Tij Iginla
Jett Luchanko
Brady Martin
Porter Martone
Braeden Cootes
Carter Bear
Cole Reschny
Sam O'Reilly
Liam Greentree
Caleb Desnoyers
Cole Beaudoin
Michael Hage
Defense
Carson Carels
Keaton Verhoeff
Zayne Parekh
Ethan Mackenzie
Ben Danford
Harrison Brunicke
Cameron Reid
Kashawn Aitcheson
Goalies
Carter George
Jack Ivankovic
Joshua Ravensbergen
Team Canada Chooses Tragically Hip Hit For World Juniors Goal Song
The Canadians will hear "Courage" as they celebrate goals at the 2026 world juniors in Minnesota.
Canada Beats Sweden In Pre-Tournament Action
The Canadians beat Team Sweden 2-1 in Kitchener, Ont., on Wednesday.
The forward group looked good, but they did go through stretches when they couldn't piece together offensive chances. They did have bursts but failed to sustain them often, especially early in the game.
McKenna and Brady Martin provided the offense as they hooked up on both of Canada's goals, with Martin scoring both. McKenna looked great when he had the puck, and if this was any sign of things to come, he could be dominant at the world juniors.
Misa, Iginla and Martone didn't participate in the game but should be expected to play a big role for the team moving forward.
On the back end, Verhoeff and Carels looked solid at both ends of the ice.
Verhoeff looked poised and showed exactly why so many believe that he could be the best defenseman in the 2026 NHL draft. Carels was put in many different positions, playing in all situations, and he really looked solid as they put him to the test. Team Canada doesn't rely on young defenders often, but those two put on an impressive display.
Mackenzie did exactly what Canada likely hoped he would. He played a simple game, made no mistakes and provided an element of predictability on the back end. With the puck-moving responsibilities belonging to players like Reid, Aitcheson and Bruncike (who also did not play), Mackenzie will be asked to play a safe, steady defensive game.
Carter George got the full game in net for Canada and looked great. He will likely take the reins as the starter, but with Ivankovic expected to get Game 2 of the pre-tournament series on Saturday, it won't be surprising to see the duo split starts in the round-robin to keep them fresh.
Unless the Canadians have a surprise up their sleeves or get an NHL loan, the roster is basically set. This year's entry looks much more solid than last, and although there are some question marks, they will be a favorite to capture a medal once again after two straight quarterfinal exits.
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