The 2025 U17 World Hockey Challenge got underway this past Sunday in Nova Scotia, Canada. Seventeen OHL players are representing Canada at the event, and one of those players burst out of the gates on opening day. 

Canada, in the past, has brought three squads to this event. However, with the Russian conflict and their international play remaining banned, Canada decided to cut down to two squads — Canada White and Canada Red — to make it an even six teams participating in the tournament. 

It was an all-Canadian affair in last year’s final, with Canada White taking down Canada Red by a score of 3-1 in the gold medal game. Windsor Spitfires’ forward Jean-Christoph Lemieux delivered on the big stage with a goal and an assist. 

Canada Red kicked off the 2025 tournament against Finland. Canada scored 40 seconds into the game. The QMJHL’s monster, 6-foot-4, first-overall pick in 2025, Alexis Joseph, scored his first of three and introduced himself to all the NHL scouts in attendance as a player to watch for the 2027 NHL Draft. Assisting on his goal was Flint Firebirds’ top-ten pick from 2025, Charlie Murata, who finished the game with two goals and two assists. 

Look Out For Alexis Joseph, A 2027 NHL Draft Prospect Whose Power Game Is MacKinnon-Esque We are very, very early in thinking about the 2027 NHL draft, but if Canada's summer U-17 camp is any indicator, center Alexis Joseph is gonna be a <i>problem </i>for opponents from here on out.

Canada Red has six OHL players on their roster, whereas Canada White loaded up with a total of 11. In Canada Red's opening game, they achieved an 8-4 victory over Finland, with four out of the six OHL players contributing on the scoresheet. Below are the stats for the OHL players from Canada Red.

F, Charlie Murata (Flint Firebirds) - 2G, 2A
F, Max Delisle (Owen Sound Attack) - 1G, 1A
F, Camryn Warren (North Bay Battalion) - 1A
RHD, Peter Green (Brampton Steelheads) - 1A

Following Canada Red, Canada White had the night game against Sweden, which turned out to be another high-scoring affair. 

Hockey Canada clearly made their Canada White squad a juggernaut squad for this tournament. Not only did they give them the top four picks from the 2025 OHL draft (Kaden McGregor, Jaakko Wycisk, Brock Chitaroni, Brenner Lammens), but they also put two of Canada’s most talented up-and-coming prospects out of the WHL, Liam Pue and Maddox Schultz.

Schultz and Pue showed up against Sweden. The two combined for five goals and eight points. This dynamic duo plays together for the Regina Pat Canadians U18 AAA squad in the SMAAAHL, and they have been terrorizing the league. They were also both drafted by the Regina Pats, Schultz going first overall, and Pue going third. One last important note on them: they were born in 2010 and are underage players at this tournament. 

Maddox Schultz – A 2028 NHL Draft Eligible – Is The Next Great Thing From Western Canada The 2028 NHL draft is four drafts away. Four of them. So it's probably wildly early to suggest that 15-year-old Maddox Schultz from Regina will be the No. 1 overall pick that far down the road.

As for the OHL representatives from Canada White in their tournament-opener, eight out of the 11 players factored in on the scoresheet. Sarnia Sting’s second-round defenseman Kaden Aucoin led the way with two assists. 

Below are the stats for the OHL players from Canada White’s 9-5 win over Sweden on Sunday. 

RHD, Kaden Aucoin (Sarnia Sting) - 2A
F, Aleks Kulemin (Kingston Frontenacs) - 1G
F, Brock Chitaroni (Ottawa 67’s) - 1G
F, Jaakko Wycisk (Guelph Storm) - 1G
F, Kaden McGregor (Peterborough Petes) - 1G
LHD, Matthew Henderson (Kingston Frontenacs) - 1A
LHD, Alex Forrest (Kitchener Rangers) - 1A
F, Brenner Lammens (Sarnia Sting) - 1A

Canada White is back in action Monday night against Team Czechia. Canada Red has the day off and will play on Tuesday against the USA. 

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