Played goal for Pickering Panthers in the OJHL during 2024-25
OAKVILLE – Gavin Betts, who played for the Pickering Panthers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League last season, is one of 25 players who will wear the Maple Leaf with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team as it looks to capture a fourth-straight gold medal at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, set for Aug. 11-16 in Brno, Czechia and Trencin, Slovakia, Hockey Canada announced Friday.
Betts, who played for the Panthers of the OJHL as a rookie last season, also played nine games with the Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League in 2024-25. The Toronto resident was selected to represent the OJHL in the Prospects games during the 2024 Battle of Ontario last fall.
Three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 14 forwards were selected by Alan Millar (Tottenham, ON), general manager of the Program of Excellence, with support from Yanick Lemay (Drummondville, QC/Drummondville, QMJHL), the U18 lead with the POE management group, head scout Byron Bonora (Brooks, AB), Benoit Roy (Sudbury, ON), director of hockey operations, and Scott Salmond (Creston, BC), senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations.
Forty players were invited to a selection camp this week at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, home of the OJHL’s Oakville Blades.
“We are excited to unveil the 25 players who have earned the opportunity to represent Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, as we believe this is an elite group that brings international experience and a determination to continue our success at the tournament,” said Millar. “Our selection camp was highly competitive and provided an opportunity for our players to showcase themselves against the top talent in the country, and we believe we have assembled a roster that will compete for gold and wear the Maple Leaf with pride in Czechia and Slovakia.”
Among the 25 players are six who won a gold medal with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship and 21 who suited up at the 2024 U17 World Challenge, including 14 who won gold with Canada White, including Betts.
Canada will open the preliminary round of the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Finland on Aug. 11 at 9:30 a.m. ET/6:30 a.m. PT. It will also take on Switzerland and Czechia on Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, respectively, before the tournament concludes with the medal games on Aug. 16. Prior to the start of the tournament, Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team will play pre-tournament games in Budapest against Hungary’s national under-20 team on Aug. 7 and in Piestany against Slovakia on Aug. 9.
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast select tournament games, including all Team Canada games; please check local listings for more details.
Canada has won 25 gold medals in 32 years of summer under-18 competition, along with three silver medals and one bronze.
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.
