McKenna headlines Canadian players to watch at Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Canada is aiming for its third straight gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup from Aug. 5 – 10 in Edmonton and will have a star prospect to help defend its title.

Watch Canada take on Switzerland in round robin action at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup LIVE at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on TSN1/5 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App. 

Gavin McKenna may be the youngest player on the Canadian roster with a late December birthday, but he dominated the Western Hockey League and world U18s in the spring and is the top prospect available for the 2026 NHL Draft.

The remainder of the team is all eligible for the 2025 draft, with every player born in 2007.

Here are seven players to watch for Canada at the tournament.

Gavin McKenna

McKenna had a dominant 2023-24 season as a 16-year-old forward in the WHL with Medicine Hat.

As a rookie with the Tigers, he had 34 goals and 97 points in 61 games. In the playoffs, he had six points in five games as he earned CHL Rookie of the Year honours.

He took his game to new heights at the U18s, recording 20 points in seven games as Canada took home gold.

“He’s a special player,” said TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button of McKenna. “Emphasis on special. He’s a player that plays the game in real time, he knows exactly what he’s confronted with, what his options are, and then he knows exactly how to take advantage of the best options and make you pay.

“When the stakes get higher and the demands become greater, he will take a firm grip on a game, and he showed that at the U18s.”

Caleb Desnoyers

Desnoyers enjoyed a strong rookie season with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League last year, scoring 20 goals with 56 points in 60 games.

“Caleb is an engine that revs at high RPMs,” said Button. “He’s a driver. He’s a strong two-way player. He’s going to be in the competitive mix everywhere on the ice, with the puck, without the puck.

“He’s that heartbeat player that every winning team has.”

On the international level, he won gold at both the U-17 Hockey Challenge as part of the Canada White squad and at the U18s.

Cameron Schmidt

Schmidt was another member of the golden Canada White squad at the U-17 Challenge and has the distinction of scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to clinch the title.

As a rookie last season in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants, he scored 31 goals with 58 points in 59 games.

He is the smallest player on the Canadian roster at 5-foot-7.

“He’s a diminutive dynamo,” said Button. “He’s a player for me, when he gets the puck in open ice, it’s lights out. He’s a competitor. He’s in the mix. He’s not a player that needs the game to be set up a certain way. He knows how to take his attributes and impact the game.”

Émile Guité

Guité had a solid rookie season with the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Sagueneens, scoring 25 goals with 57 points in 61 games.

He took home QMJHL Rookie of the Year honours and was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team along with Desnoyers.

“Guité is an elite goal scorer,” said Button. “He is the type of player that when he is in the offensive zone, he knows how to get open, when to get open and he can really thread the needle with that shot.”

He was also a member of the Canada White team that won gold at the U17s, where he scored seven goals with 10 points in eight games.

Matthew Schaefer

Schaefer had a solid rookie season with the Erie Otters after being selected first overall in the 2023 OHL Draft.

The 6-foot-1 defenceman had three goals and 17 points in 56 games and had three assists in six postseason games.

He was a key player for Canada at the U18s when they won gold and Button expects Schaefer to play a big role again at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

“It won’t surprise that if at some point in his NHL career he will play 30 minutes a night, one night,” said Button. “Great skater, efficient. I don’t think he’s going to be an 85-point offensive player, but he can play every single situation in the game and play it well.

“I’m so impressed by a young player that is so comfortable in his own skin playing the game.”

Schaefer also took home gold at the U-17 Hockey Challenge.

Reese Hamilton

Hamilton had eight goals and 31 points in 42 games last season with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.

The 17-year-old defenceman also appeared at the U-17 Hockey Challenge with the Canada Red squad, notching two assists in seven games.

“The foundation of his game is based on skating,” said Button. “Excellent competitor, excellent skater, wants to initiate but just sometimes [he] needs to get the puck off his stick quicker. That would be the only developmental area.”

He was selected fourth overall by Calgary in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft.

Cameron Reid

Reid was named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team in 2023-24 after a season where the blueliner had two goals and 23 points in 49 games with the Kitchener Rangers.

“Cameron is just a well-rounded player,” said Button. “I think the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. He knows to beat pressure and how to alleviate it. He doesn’t put it in the defensive zone and doesn’t put his teammates in a tough spot. It’s always clean.”

He also had a goal and an assist in eight games en route to gold with Canada White at the U17s.