Dale Hunter will be tasked with bringing Team Canada back to World Juniors glory.
The former Washington Capitals bench boss was named head coach for Canada at the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championships on Thursday morning. After falling in the quarterfinals to Czechia at the 2025 tournament, Canada failed to reach the semifinals in consecutive years since the tournament changed to a playoff format in 1996.
Mark Hunter, Dale’s younger brother, will serve as part of the team’s management group.
Dale and Mark have been co-owners of the OHL’s London Knights since 2000, with Dale serving as the team’s head coach since the 2001-02 season. He also previously led Team Canada to a gold medal victory over Russia at the 2020 World Juniors in Czechia.
Canada was led by 2020 number one overall NHL draft selection Alexis Lafreniere, who recorded 10 points (4g, 6a) in five games and was named tournament MVP. Capitals forward Connor McMichael also earned gold with the team, posting seven points (5g, 2a) in seven games.
Hunter is coming off another incredibly successful OHL season, having led the Knights to a fifth OHL championship and third Memorial Cup championship since he took over as head coach of the team.
Hunter’s coaching career took a detour during the 2011-12 season when the Capitals hired him to replace Bruce Boudreau in November. Hunter led the Caps to a 42-32-8 regular season finish (92 points, second in the Southeast Division), ultimately being eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the New York Rangers. Hunter stepped away from his position just two days after the defeat, having coached just 74 games.
The Petrolia, Ontario native spent 19 seasons in the NHL as a player from 1980 to 1999, appearing in 1,407 games with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche and the Capitals. He ranks second in NHL history with 3,565 penalty minutes and is the only player to have recorded over 1,000 points (1,020) and 3,000 penalty minutes.
Hunter could assemble a seriously stacked roster for World Juniors with such a deep talent pool available, including consensus 2026 number-one overall NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna and 2025 first overall selection Matthew Schaefer. The Capitals’ first-round picks from the last two drafts, Terik Parascak (2024) and Lynden Lakovic (2025), could also make the roster.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on December 26, 2025, and will be held in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.
