As expected, Tij Iginla will suit up for Canada this holiday season.

Iginla was one of 27 players named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, which begins in Minnesota on Boxing Day.
 

While one forward will be cut from the roster announced today before the start of the tournament, Iginla is expected to be a key player for Canada this year.

He’s been red hot to start the season in Kelowna, scoring 13 goals and adding 14 assists in 17 games since being reassigned to the WHL from the NHL’s Utah Mammoth.

Another notable name to make the Canadian roster is Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes, captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
 

He’s one of three Canucks prospects who will play in the tournament alongside Wilson Björck of Sweden and Basile Sansonnens of Switzerland.

There are three Rockets in the tournament as well, as Tomas Poletin and Vojtěch Čihař were named to Czechia’s roster last week.

It will be a fun Boxing Day for Kelowna hockey fans with Canada and Czechia facing off at 5:30 pm PST to kick off their respective round robin schedules.

_{Thumbnail photo courtesy of the Kelowna Rockets.}