NHL First Round Picks and Top 2026 NHL Draft Prospects Highlight WHL Contributions to Canada's National Junior Team Training Camp
WHL Western Hockey League

NHL First Round Picks and Top 2026 NHL Draft Prospects Highlight WHL Contributions to Canada's National Junior Team Training Camp

Published on December 8, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL) News Release


Calgary, Alta. - NHL first round picks and top 2026 NHL Draft prospects from the Western Hockey League have been named to the training camp roster for Canada's National Junior Team ahead of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, Hockey Canada announced Monday.

Eleven players with connections to the WHL will compete for their place on Canada's National Junior Team, which will challenge for gold at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., from Friday, December 26, 2025, through Monday, January 5, 2026.

Nine WHL Clubs will be represented by a current player or alumnus at Canada's National Junior Team training camp, including the Edmonton Oil Kings, Everett Silvertips, Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets, Medicine Hat Tigers, Prince George Cougars, Seattle Thunderbirds, Tri-City Americans, and Victoria Royals. Canada's National Junior Team training camp is scheduled for December 12-22, 2025, in Niagara Falls, Ont.

The Cougars lead all WHL Clubs with two players named to the training camp roster, including goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen (San Jose Sharks, 1-30, 2025) and underage defenceman Carson Carels, who is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Ravensbergen was named Mary Brown's Chicken WHL Goaltender of the Month for November and ranks among WHL goaltending leaders with a record of 16-6-0-0, 2.50 goals-against average, .921 save percentage, and two shutouts. Undrafted into the WHL, Ravensbergen owns a career record of 75-23-4-2 with a 2.72 GAA, .907 SV%, and eight shutouts.

Carels, who represented Team CHL at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge in late November, ranks sixth in scoring among all WHL defencemen with 29 points (8G-21A) and a plus-7 rating in 28 games. Back in October, Carels was assigned an 'A' rating by NHL Central Scouting in its Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2026 NHL Draft. Originally selected by the Cougars in the first round (16th overall) of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, Carels has secured 67 points (14G-53A) in 95 career WHL regular season games.

Undrafted defenceman Ethan MacKenzie of the Edmonton Oil Kings has earned an invite to camp and grabbed the attention of the hockey world as the only undrafted 19-year-old named to the roster. The product of Peachland, B.C., sits fourth in scoring among all WHL blueliners with 31 points (10G-21A) and a plus-22 rating in 30 games this season. Originally selected by the Oil Kings in the fourth round (82nd overall) of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, MacKenzie has tallied 81 points (17G_64A) in 160 career WHL regular season games.

Rockets forward Tij Iginla, who was named Tempo WHL Player of the Month for November, has returned to Kelowna healthy in 2025-26 and leads the 2026 Memorial Cup hosts in scoring with 27 points (13G-14A) and a plus-11 rating in 17 games. Iginla's 1.59 points per game rank third among all WHL skaters. A 2024 first-round pick of the Utah Mammoth (1-6), Iginla brings a scorer's pedigree, having registered 84 goals in 102 career cWHL games since September 2023.

Thunderbirds captain Braeden Cootes has been steady in Seattle, tallying 23 points (10G-13A) and a plus-3 rating in 17 games this season. A 2025 first-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks (1-15), Cootes started the campaign in the Lower Mainland, seeing action in three NHL games before returning to the Pacific Northwest to lead the Thunderbirds. Originally selected by the Thunderbirds in the first round (10th overall) of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, Cootes has managed 122 points (50G-72A) in 148 career WHL regular season games.

Silvertips star Carter Bear rounds out the contingent of current WHL players. A 2025 first-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings (1-13), Bear continues to serve as an important weapon on offense for the WHL-leading Silvertips, sitting tied for second in goal scoring with 13 markers in 23 games. Originally selected by the Silvertips in the sixth round (132nd overall) of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, Bear has defied the odds, recording 168 points (79G-89A) in 165 career WHL regular season games.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Harrison Brunicke, who developed with the Kamloops Blazers, is on loan from the NHL. Selected by the Penguins in the second round (44th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft, Brunicke has played nine NHL games this season, collecting one goal. He recently finished a five-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. Since 2021-22, Brunicke has played 151 career WHL regular season games with the Blazers and remains eligible to return to Kamloops this season.

Canada's National Junior Team, Training Camp Roster - Players Developed in the WHL

Last Name First Name Most Recent WHL Club Hometown Ht Wt Pos

Ravensbergen Joshua Prince George Cougars North Vancouver, B.C. 6-6 195 G

Smith Jackson Tri-City Americans Calgary, Alta. 6-4 198 D

Brunicke Harrison Kamloops Blazers Calgary, Alta. 6-3 203 D

Carels Carson Prince George Cougars Cypress River, Man. 6-2 194 D

MacKenzie Ethan Edmonton Oil Kings Peachland, B.C. 6-1 189 D

Verhoeff Keaton Victoria Royals Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. 6-4 212 D

Cootes Braeden Seattle Thunderbirds Sherwood Park. Alta. 6-0 183 F

McKenna Gavin Medicine Hat Tigers Whitehorse, Yukon 6-0 165 F

Iginla Tij Kelowna Rockets Lake Country, B.C. 6-1 195 F

Bear Carter Everett Silvertips West St. Paul, Man. 6-0 177 F

Reschny Cole Victoria Royals Macklin, Sask. 5-11 183 F

Former Medicine Hat Tigers star Gavin McKenna returns to Canada's National Junior Team for the second consecutive season. Now with Penn State University, McKenna won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL Rookie of the Year in 2023-24 before earning the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL Player of the Year in 2024-25 and leading the Medicine Hat Tigers to the 2025 WHL Championship. Over three WHL seasons, he recorded 244 points (79G-165A) in 133 regular season games, adding another 45 points (12G-33A) in 25 WHL playoff games. McKenna is a top prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Former Tri-City Americans defenceman Jackson Smith, a teammate of McKenna at Penn State University, spent two seasons in the WHL, tallying 85 points (19G-66A) in 136 regular season games. He was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round (14th overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft.

A pair of former Victoria Royals and now teammates at the University of North Dakota - forward Cole Reschny and defenceman Keaton Verhoeff - are also headed to Canada's National Junior Team training camp. Reschny, who was selected by the Calgary Flames in the first round (18th overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft, collected 152 points (48G-104A) in 127 regular season games with the Royals. As for Verhoeff he is projected to be a top selection in the 2026 NHL Draft after spending parts of two seasons in Victoria, notching 47 points (21G-26A) in 75 regular season games.

The National Junior Team training camp roster announced by Hockey Canada includes 27 players - three goaltenders, nine defencemen, and 15 forwards. Of the players named to the training camp roster for Canada's National Junior Team, 14 were developed in the Ontario Hockey League, 11 were developed in the WHL, and one was developed in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, totalling 26 from across the Canadian Hockey League.

Hockey Canada will continue to work with National Hockey League teams regarding players who are eligible for the IIHF World Junior Championship, and roster additions will be announced as necessary, pending player availability.

Canada's training camp roster was selected by National Junior Team General Manager Alan Millar (Tottenham, Ont.), Head Scout Byron Bonora (Brooks, Alta.), and Mark Hunter (Petrolia, Ont. / London Knights, OHL), U20 Lead with the Program of Excellence management group, with input from Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), Senior Vice-President of High Performance and Hockey Operations, and Benoit Roy (Sudbury, Ont.), Director of Hockey Operations.

Head Coach Dale Hunter (Petrolia, Ont. / London Knights, OHL), Associate Coach Misha Donskov (London, Ont.), and assistant coaches Brad Lauer (Humboldt, Sask. / Spokane Chiefs, WHL) and Gardiner MacDougall (Bedeque, P.E.I. / Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL), as well as goaltending consultant Dan De Palma (Kamloops, B.C. / Kamloops Blazers, WHL), also provided input.

"We are extremely excited to unveil the 27 players who will begin the road to the World Juniors at training camp in Niagara Falls," Millar said. "This group represents the very best of Canadian junior hockey - skill, speed, sense, character, and a strong commitment to team success and the pride in representing Canada at this prestigious world championship. Our staff has worked tirelessly to identify a roster that embodies the identity we want Canada to play, and we're confident these athletes are ready for the challenge ahead. This process and team build came with many difficult decisions. We are confident in this group as we begin our preparations for Minneapolis on December 12."

Canada's National Junior Team training camp will take place at the Gale Centre in Niagara Falls, Ont., from December 12-22, 2025, and will feature two pre-tournament games against Sweden - Wednesday, December 17 at Kitchener, Ont., and Saturday, December 20 at London, Ont., followed by one pre-tournament game against Denmark - Tuesday, December 23, at Mankato, Minn.

The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship begins Friday, December 26, when Canada faces Czechia.

Canada will compete in Group B alongside Czechia, Denmark, Finland, and Latvia, while Group A features Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast every game of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship and Canada's first two pre-tournament games. Check your local guide for channel listings.

For more information on Hockey Canada, please visit HockeyCanada.ca. For more information on the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, please visit IIHF.com.

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