Prince George Cougars defenceman Carson Carels was one of the top rookies in the Western Hockey League last season and for the next two weeks in Europe he’ll be putting his blueliner capabilities to the test against international competition.
The 17-year-old from Cyress River., Man., is one of eight defencemen selected by Hockey Canada to compete in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup U-18 tournament Aug. 11-16 in Brdno, Czechia and Trencin, Slovakia.
Listed at six-foot-one, 189 pounds, Carels will be in Budapest, Hungary for a pre-tournament game on Thursday against the Hungarian U-20 national team and is also set to play Slovakia in pre-tournament action Friday in Piestany, Slovakia.
Canada opens its preliminary-round schedule against Monday, Aug. 11 against Finland. The Canadians also play Switzerland (Aug. 12) and Czechia (Aug. 13), before the playoff round begins.
Semifinals will be played Friday, Aug. 15 at 8 a.m. PT, with the medal games set for Saturday, Aug. 16 at 10 a.m. PT
Carels broke into the WHL in the 2024 playoffs and did not look out of place and that set the stage for an impressive rookie season in which he produced six goals and 29 assists in 60 games in 2024-25.
This is the third time for Carels to represent Canada in an international event. In November 2024 he played for Canada Red in the World U17 Hockey Challenge in Sarnia, Ont., and was part of the national team in April that won the 2025 IIHF World U-18 Championship in Texas.
One of his teammates on that U18 world championship team was right winger Cameron Schimdt of Prince George, a Dallas Stars third rounder in 2025 who plays for the Vancouver Giants. Schmidt also won gold playing for Canada in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup a year ago in Edmonton.
Five of the eight defencemen on Canada’s team play in the WHL, including Carels, Landon DuPont (Everett Silvertips), Ryan Lin (Vancouver Giants), Giorgos Pantelas (Brandon Wheat Kings), Daxon Rudolph (Prince Albert Raiders) and Keaton Verhoeff (Victoria Royals).
Four WHL forwards, including twin brothers Liam and Markus Ruck (Medine Hat Tigers), Mathis Preston (Spokane Chiefs) and Cooper Williams (Saskatoon Blades) as well as goalie Carter Esler (Spokane Chiefs) are also on the Canadian roster.
Team rosters, game results and more tournament information are available on the website.
