Canada has announced their leadership group for the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Canada has announced their leadership group for the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup
The 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup kicks off today in Edmonton, Alberta.
Top prospects for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, and even a few big names for the 2026 draft, will be front and center for NHL scouts to see for the next five days.
The OHL is well-represented with nine players suiting up for Canada, Travis Hayes representing the USA, and German defenseman Max Bleicher, who recently signed with the Owen Sound Attack.
Canada starts their back-to-back title defense against Switzerland later today at 7:30pm MDT and this afternoon, Hockey Canada announced their leadership group for the tournament.
The Erie Otters' first-overall pick in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, Matthew Schaefer, was chosen to wear the “C” for Canada.
Schaefer played a big role as an underage player for Canada at the IIHF Men’s U18 World Championship earlier this year and also wore the “C” for Team Canada White at the U17 World Hockey Challenge.
Matthew is seen as one of the top defense prospects for the 2025 NHL draft-eligible and has been ranked in the top 10 by Chris Peters of FloHockey, Daily Faceoff (5th overall), and Draft Prospects Hockey in their early 2025 rankings.
Top prospect from the QMJHL, Caleb Desnoyers, and potential Canadian phenom, 2026 NHL draft-eligible prospect, Gavin McKenna, were named assistant captains.