Latest news with #EthanBelchetz
CBC
2 days ago
- Sport
- CBC
Gavin Betts pitches 22-save shutout, leading Canada to Hlinka Gretzky Cup bronze medal
Gavin Betts had a 22-save shutout as Canada earned bronze at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup with a 3-0 win over Finland on Saturday in Brno, Czech Republic. Cooper Williams, Ethan Belchetz and Daxon Rudolph supplied the offence as Canada won its 30th medal at the under-18 men's hockey tournament. The Canadians fell to the United States in a 4-3 shootout loss in Friday's semifinal. "It was tough to lose in the semifinals because we came here to try to win gold, but sometimes things do not work out the way you want them to," said Belchetz. "We were a little down after yesterday's game, but we wanted to leave here with a medal and bring something home to our families." Canada has won 25 gold medals, three silver, and two bronze since the international event was first held in 1991. William Gammals stopped 27 shots in net for Finland. The United States beat Sweden 5-3 for gold later Saturday. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup will be held in Edmonton in 2026. It will be the fifth time the international under-18 showcase is played in Canada, with Alberta previously hosting three times (Edmonton — 2024; Red Deer — 2022; Edmonton and Red Deer — 2018). Canada won gold at all three of those tournaments, defeating the Czechs 2-1 in the 2024 final. "We are thrilled to bring the Hlinka Gretzky Cup back to Edmonton next year, and to kick off the 2026-27 hockey season with the top under-18 players from eight countries competing for a gold medal," said Dean McIntosh, Hockey Canada's senior vice-president of revenue, fan experience and community impact. "This is a prestigious tournament with a deep history that is an important part of the international hockey calendar, and we look forward to hosting a world-class event for teams, players and fans next August."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Goalie Gavin Betts perfect as Canada earns bronze at Hlinka Gretzky Cup
BRNO — Gavin Betts had a 22-save shutout as Canada earned bronze at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup with a 3-0 win over Finland on Saturday. Cooper Williams, Ethan Belchetz and Daxon Rudolph supplied the offence as Canada won its 30th medal at the under-18 men's hockey tournament. The Canadians fell to the United States in a 4-3 shootout loss in Friday's semifinal. 'It was tough to lose in the semifinals because we came here to try to win gold, but sometimes things do not work out the way you want them to," said Belchetz. "We were a little down after yesterday's game, but we wanted to leave here with a medal and bring something home to our families." Canada has won 25 golds, three silvers, and two bronzes since the international event was first held in 1991. William Gammals stopped 27 shots in net for Finland. The U.S. beat Sweden 5-3 for gold later Saturday. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup will be held in Edmonton in 2026. It will be the fifth time the international under-18 showcase is played in Canada, with Alberta previously hosting three times (Edmonton – 2024; Red Deer - 2022; Edmonton and Red Deer – 2018). Canada won gold at all three of those tournaments, defeating Czechia 2-1 in the 2024 final. 'We are thrilled to bring the Hlinka Gretzky Cup back to Edmonton next year, and to kick off the 2026-27 hockey season with the top under-18 players from eight countries competing for a gold medal,' said Dean McIntosh, Hockey Canada's senior vice-president of revenue, fan experience and community impact. 'This is a prestigious tournament with a deep history that is an important part of the international hockey calendar, and we look forward to hosting a world-class event for teams, players and fans next August.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2025. The Canadian Press
National Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Goalie Gavin Betts perfect as Canada earns bronze at Hlinka Gretzky Cup
BRNO — Gavin Betts had a 22-save shutout as Canada earned bronze at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup with a 3-0 win over Finland on Saturday. Article content Cooper Williams, Ethan Belchetz and Daxon Rudolph supplied the offence as Canada won its 30th medal at the under-18 men's hockey tournament. Article content
Forbes
4 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
This Week's Hlinka Gretzky Cup Kicks Off The 2026 NHL Draft Season
Top prospect Ethan Belchetz has been a standout for Canada at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. (Photo by Michael Miller/) Getty Images The medal contenders are set for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. It's guaranteed to be North America vs. Europe playing for gold. The tournament's two semi-finals will take place on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, with TV coverage on NHL Network in the U.S. and TSN in Canada. In Brno, Czechia, Canada will face the United States while Sweden will take on Finland in Trencin, Slovakia. The winners will play for gold on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET, also on NHL Network and TSN, while the bronze-medal game goes at the same time in the other venue. Held every August, the Hlinka Gretzky Cup marks the beginning of each year's draft prospect season. Presented by the Czech and Slovak hockey federations along with Hockey Canada, the tournament alternates between Europe and Alberta each year, and features some of the best under-18 hockey talent in the world. This year is a European edition, with games played in Czechia and Slovakia. While not an official International Ice Hockey Federation event, the current tournament structure excludes Russia, which remains banned from IIHF competition following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The eight-team field for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup was split into two groups of four for the round-robin, which ran Monday through Wednesday. Canada emerged from Group A with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record, while Sweden did the same in Group B. By beating Czechia 4-1 and getting to overtime in a 4-3 loss to Switzerland, Finland collected four points to claim second place and reach the medal round in Group A. Team USA comfortably beat Slovakia and Germany but saw a 3-1 lead evaporate in a 5-3 loss to the Swedes, landing them second in Group B. That sets up the Czechs and Slovaks to play for fifth place earlier on Friday in Brno, while Switzerland and Germany square off for seventh. The Swedes put up the most impressive stat line during the preliminary round, outscoring their opponents 22-3 on aggregate. Marcus Nordmark, whose father Robert Nordmark played 236 NHL games in the late 80s and early 90s, led the way offensively with nine points . His teammate Elton Hermansson was right behind with four goals and seven points. Both players are early projections as first-round picks in the 2026NHL draft. In net, Swedish goaltender Milo Tjarnlund delivered shutouts against Germany and Slovakia. Douglas Nilsson got the tougher assignment against the U.S., shutting the door to allow Sweden to come back from a 3-1 deficit and earn a 5-3 win. As the other undefeated team, Canada outscored its three opponents 19-4, but had to rely on some third-period outbursts to run up those offensive numbers. In their opener against Finland, the Canadians were locked in a 2-2 tie until late in the second period. Against Switzerland on Tuesday, they were up just 1-0 before the floodgates opened in the third. The situation was the same as they closed out against Czechia on Wednesday. In net, Gavin Betts of the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs earned the shutout against the Czechs. Offensively, Ethan Belchetz, a 6-foot-5 forward with the Windsor Spitfires, has arguably been Canada's most dominant player so far. He has five points, as do Adam Valentini of the OHL's Kitchener Ranagers and Mathis Preston from the WHL's Spokane Chiefs. The Ruck twins, Liam and Markus, who play for the reigning WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers, have also stood out, as has 2027 draft-eligible defenseman Landon DuPont. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is an interesting tournament for the Americans. The roster does not include any players from the U.S. National Team Development Program, which will play together as a team at the IIHF's World U18 Championship next April. This group is comprised of players from the USHL, U.S. high schools and Canadian leagues including major junior and Junior A leagues such as the BCHL. This year, the U.S. team is captained by forward Luke Puchner, who's attending the renowned hockey prep school Shattuck St. Mary's in his home state of Minnesota. Through the round robin, the U.S. offense has been led by South Jersey's Blake Zielinski, a 2027 commit to Providence College who is set to return to the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers this fall. Zielinski tallied six points during the preliminary round. Gavin McKenna is a top prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft who is not taking part in this year's tournament. McKenna, who's projected to go No. 1 next June and will suit up for Penn State University this fall, won gold with Canada at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and also played at the 2025 U20 World Junior Championship as a 17-year-old. This summer, he was part of Canada's roster at the World Junior Summer Showcase. Sweden's Ivar Stenberg and Viggo Bjorck are also expected to be high 2026 picks, and skated at the Summer Showcase. Like McKenna, both were also part of the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Stenberg was a standout, tied for third in tournament scoring with 10 points as Sweden took the bronze medal.
Ottawa Citizen
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Several Spitfires will get an early start to the season
Several Windsor Spitfires will get an early start to the season. Article content That's a positive with Hockey Canada tapping four members of the Spitfires to attend program of excellence summer camps and two more players tagged by USA Hockey to compete for national programs. Article content Windsor forwards Ethan Belchetz and J.C. Lemieux along with defenceman Carter Hicks are among 40 players competing for an under-18 roster spot for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which is set for Aug. 11-16 in Czechia and Slovakia. Article content Players will attend a selection camp in Oakville from July 29 to Aug. 1. Article content Article content 'Our under-18 selection camp provides us with an opportunity to evaluate players and select a roster that will believe will give us the best chance to defend our gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup,' Alan Miler, who is Canada's general manager of the Program of Excellence, said in a release. Article content The first overall pick in the 2024 OHL Draft, the six-foot-five, 227-pound Belchetz had 17 goals and 38 points in 56 games as a rookie last season. The six-foot, 176-pound Lemieux scored nine goals and totalled 19 points in 46 games while Hicks finished with three goals and 14 points in 52 games and was a plus 14. Both were second-round picks by Windsor in 2024. Article content A year ago, the Spitfires' Jack Nesbitt helped Canada defends its title at the event. Article content Meanwhile, a fourth member of the Spitfires will also eye a roster spot at the tournament. Forward Caden Harvey, who was a fifth-round pick by the Spitfires in this year's OHL Draft, was among 38 players invited to the United States camp, which will be held in Plymouth, Mich. from July 28 to Aug. 3. The six-foot-one, 180-pound Harvey played for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite U16 program last year and signed with Windsor in June. Article content Article content Spitfires' first-round pick Johnny McLaughlin is among 79 players headed to Oakville for Hockey Canada's under-17 development camp, which will run from July 19-23. Article content 'Our under-17 camp is an opportunity to introduce athletes to the Program of Excellence and allow them to compete against top players in Canada while we begin evaluating and preparing for the U17 World Challenge this fall,' Millar said. Article content The World U17 Hockey Challenge is scheduled for Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. Players will continue to be evaluated through the start of the season before rosters are set. Spitfires' equipment manager J.R. Grant has already been selected to work the event. Article content Along with McLaughlin, Tecumseh's Jaakko Wycisk, who was the second overall pick in this year's OHL Draft by the Guelph Storm, will also head to the camp along with Tecumseh's Noah Laus, who was a first-round pick by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, and Belle River's Edgar, who was a second-round pick by the Barrie Colts.
