Dale Hunter named head coach of Canada’s national junior team

CALGARY, Alberta – Hockey Canada has announced that three-time Memorial Cup champion and 2020 World Juniors gold medalist Dale Hunter (Petrolia, ON/London, OHL) has been named head coach of Canada’s National Junior Team for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.

In addition, Mark Hunter (Petrolia, ON/London, OHL) will serve as a member of the management group.

The Hunters were selected by newly appointed Program of Excellence general manager Alan Millar (Tottenham, ON) and Scott Salmond (Creston, BC), senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, with input from Benoit Roy (Sudbury, ON), the organization’s director of hockey operations.

“The first order of business for myself and Scott was to find the best coach possible to lead our National Junior Team,” said Millar. “Dale’s résumé speaks for itself: three Memorial Cups, three OHL Coach of the Year awards and two international gold medals. His passion for this program runs deep, and we feel he is the best candidate to lead us to a gold medal in Minnesota.”

In his role on the management group, Mark will assist Millar, Salmond and Roy with all hockey operations-related matters, including supporting the player evaluation and selection process.

“Mark led Canada to a World Juniors gold medal in 2020 and has built one of the premier franchises in the Canadian Hockey League, with unparalleled on-ice success and player advancement,” said Salmond. “Alan and Mark provide a stable backbone for our National Junior Team and I’m confident they will build a staff and roster that Canadians can be proud of come December.”

Dale Hunter began his coaching career with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2001 and has held that role for the last 24 seasons, save for 60 games as head coach of the Washington Capitals in 2011-12. Under Hunter, the Knights have won five OHL championships (2005, 2013, 2016, 2024, 2025) and three Memorial Cup championships (2005, 2016, 2025). Hunter has also been named OHL Coach of the Year three times (2003-04, 2004-05, 2009-10) and earned the CHL’s Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award in 2003-04. In addition to his 2020 World Juniors gold, he coached Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team to a gold medal at the 2014 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Hunter played 1,409 NHL games with the Capitals, Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche from 1980-99, recording 1,020 points (323-697—1020). He ranks second…