Flames prospects score invites to World Junior Summer Showcase
Article content
On Sunday morning, Hockey Canada unveiled the 44 players who will be representing the country at the annual summer tournament in Minnesota, and three of the future stars the Flames have drafted in the last two years have scored invites.
Article content
The trio of Zayne Parekh, Henry Mews and Cole Reschny will all be participating in the practices, scrimmages and a trio of exhibition games which often serve as proving grounds for players looking to represent their country at the IIHF World Junior Championships in December and January.
Article content
Article content
Parekh was drafted ninth overall in 2024 and went on to lead the CHL in defensive scoring last season with 107 points. He's widely expected to be playing with the Flames in the NHL next season.
Article content
Article content
Mews was third in OHL defensive scoring, putting up 82 points in a season where he split time between the Ottawa 67's and Sudbury Wolves. He's committed to playing at the University of Michigan next season.
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
11 hours ago
- CBC
Close monitoring of Hockey Canada to continue as condition of federal funding
Social Sharing Canada's secretary of state for sport says the government is keeping Hockey Canada under increased monitoring for the foreseeable future as a condition of federal funding. Adam van Koeverden told CBC News that Canada's national governing body for hockey has made progress addressing its culture, but there is more work to be done. "It's not just a matter of a box-checking exercise," he said in an interview. "We're talking about a massive shift in culture that requires transparency and accountability and a lot of time." That monitoring will continue to be done by Sport Canada and van Koeverden's office, he said. The federal government paused Hockey Canada's funding in 2022 over its handling of a high-profile case. A woman known as E.M. reported a group of 2018 World Junior players sexually assaulted her in a London, Ont., hotel room. A judge recently found the five players not guilty. WATCH | Federal government restores Hockey Canada's funding with conditions: Federal government restores funding to Hockey Canada 2 years ago The federal government says it will restore funding to Hockey Canada following controversy linked to its handling of alleged sexual assault claims. But the government warns this will not be a blank cheque and sets out expectations for the organization going forward. Hockey Canada came under intense public scrutiny three years ago for quietly paying E.M. a settlement. Hockey parents were outraged to learn their registration fees were going into a reserve fund without their knowledge and used to pay out millions of dollars in sexual abuse claims over the years. A parliamentary committee investigated, sponsors paused funding and the head of Hockey Canada and its entire board resigned. The government restored Hockey Canada's funding in 2023 but it came with strings attached. The organization has had to submit quarterly reports to the federal government about its progress addressing recommendations in three independent reports including by a former Supreme Court justice. Hockey Canada confirmed to CBC News it has completed all of the recommendations in those reports. Sport Canada said it's reviewing that progress and as of July the hockey organization has implemented all of the conditions that were part of its enhanced monitoring plan. Hockey Canada completed all recommendations Despite hitting that mark, van Koeverden said there is no date in mind for when Ottawa will drop its extra monitoring. He wants to see "sustained culture change that Canadians are demanding," he said. "We've seen good progress from Hockey Canada in terms of leadership change, in terms of governance changes, in terms of their audits," van Koeverden said. He pointed to mandatory training for all staff, coaches and athletes competing with Team Canada that's now in place covering sexual violence and consent. He said training "is just the bare minimum" and that there is a need to change attitudes and behaviour. E.M. and others' courage in coming forward, van Koeverden said, sparked a national conversation about the change needed in not just hockey, but all sports. 'Abuse isn't endemic to men's hockey' In a statement following last week's ruling, van Koeverden described men's hockey culture as "problematic." Asked by CBC News how he'd describe the culture and what concerns he still has, van Koeverden said he doesn't think the issues he's identified are "endemic" to men's hockey. "I'm concerned with chauvinism, with sexism, treating women as if they're objects or something to be attained rather than one's equal," he said. "I don't think that's unique to hockey, unique to sport. "I think it is an unfortunate reality that exists in other places, in the workplace, in education and it needs to be called out, needs to be recognized and it needs to change." He added "abuse isn't endemic to men's hockey" and that if a national conversation about "how we ought to treat each other starts with hockey, I think that's uniquely Canadian." 'You can't just tick boxes' A Fifth Estate investigation in 2022 found junior hockey players were the subjects of police investigations in at least 15 cases of alleged group sexual assault since 1989 — half of which surfaced in the past decade. Former junior hockey players and those who study the sport say these incidents have grown out of a culture that has included the pursuit of women as a team sport that can result in group sex. Anatomy of a Scandal 3 years ago Hockey Canada is on the defensive over allegations that some members of its gold-medal winning World Junior team in 2018 took part in a group sexual assault, and the organization didn't do enough to hold players accountable. The Fifth Estate examines the national shame inside Canada's game, and the disturbing history that suggests this was not an isolated incident. Laura Robinson, the author of Crossing the Line: Violence and Sexual Assault in Canada's National Sport, said she wants to see Hockey Canada under enhanced monitoring by the federal government until after the Winter Olympics in 2026. She pointed to Hockey Canada's recent announcements about 18 men selected for roles. Hockey Canada appointed an all-male roster to coach its Olympic and World Junior teams. The new general manager and members of the management group for Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence are also male. "You can't just tick boxes and say we've got women involved now," she said. Hockey Canada says 'there is still more work' The Program of Excellence relies on volunteers that come from a pool of Canadian Hockey League employees. The organization said its managers and coaches selected to volunteer have "tremendous experience" working with 15-to-19-year-old male high-performance athletes. It said Chelsea Geldenhuys has been promoted to senior manager of hockey operations for the Program of Excellence. Hockey Canada said as part of its effort to increase the number of women coaching in Canada, it helped launch a new program to employ student athletes as coaches while playing university women's hockey. The hockey organization also sent CBC News a list of 17 changes its made since 2022 to address hockey culture and safety, including achieving gender equity on its board of directors, adopting a universal code of conduct to prevent maltreatment in sport and becoming one of the first organizations to be a full signatory to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. "While important progress has been made since 2022, there is still more work to be done and we will continue to be transparent and accountable to Canadians as we drive systemic change within our national winter sport," Hockey Canada chief of staff Jeremy Knight said in a statement.
Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Hockey Canada needs to step up its game
Opinion The London, Ont. Hockey Canada junior hockey players' trial mesmerized and disturbed Canadians. In an unprecedented move, the CBC reported on it live with a warning that the graphic content of their reports might be upsetting for anyone affected by sexual abuse. The players and the complainant 'EM' who testified presented conflicting versions of what transpired in the room at the Delta Armouries Hotel, their memories compromised by alcohol intoxication, the passage of time and possibly the code of silence. We will never know for sure exactly what took place that night as we were not there. What we do know is that the five accused Hockey Canada junior ice hockey players were found not guilty of sexual assault and being party to an offence. And it was not the first time that multiple members of a junior hockey team have faced allegations of sexual assault against a single female victim. It had happened before in Swift Current, 1989, Saskatoon and Windsor, 1995 and Barrie, 2000. None of these players was convicted of sexual assault. THE CANADIAN PRESS A composite image of five photographs shows former members of Canada's 2018 World Juniors hockey team, left to right, Alex Formenton, Cal Foote, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube and Carter Hart as they individually arrived to court in London, Ont. on April 22. All five men were acquitted. The issue here seemed to revolve around consent. Justice Maria Carroccia concluded that EM consented to and initiated various sexual acts with these players. As such this ruling is a huge setback for the #MeToo movement. It confirms the patriarchal belief that women are second-class citizens who can be treated as sexual objects, used, abused and then discarded. This decision will have a chilling effect on women who want to proceed with sexual assault charges. It may also function to suppress efforts to change a junior hockey culture that many believe perpetuates male entitlement and misogynistic attitudes towards women. What will happen to efforts to challenge the toxic masculinity that is bred into these players from an early age? In this culture manliness is defined as bravado, swagger, sexual conquest, risk taking, bullying and invulnerability. What role can Hockey Canada play in effecting cultural change in our great sport of hockey? Can we even trust Hockey Canada to ensure its junior hockey player representatives conduct themselves in an acceptable manner? In 2018 the five accused players and their coaches would have signed Hockey Canada's code of conduct. No. 1 on its list of responsibilities is that players and coaches 'adhere to the highest standard of behaviour and at all times refrain from any behaviour that could reflect poorly on Hockey Canada.' Among other items the code also outlines the requirement to demonstrate 'respect toward all people through actions and words.' Refraining from excessive alcohol consumption is also mentioned in the Code as is the importance of 'refraining from the use of power to coerce another person to engage in inappropriate activities.' With this Hockey Canada code of conduct in place, it is important to note that a criminal investigation into the conduct of its players was initiated in June of 2018. It took six years for Hockey Canada to act against any of its players related to this investigation. What is even more appalling is that the team coaches were never sanctioned for their role in what happened. Indeed, the assistant coach, Tim Hunter, was promoted to be the team's head coach for the following year. Clearly the players, and coaches who should have been supervising the players, violated their responsibilities regarding this code of conduct as it pertained to the treatment of EM. An apology to EM should be forthcoming regardless of the not guilty finding. It is unlikely, however, that EM will see an apology from any of these individuals as an apology is antithetical to a culture that pays lip service to its code of conduct. Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. Undoubtedly as soon as the appeal period has expired, we will see attempts by these five players to return to the NHL. Contrary to what the NHLPA says, NHL teams are not obligated to sign them. Teams, like our Winnipeg Jets, who are community-minded and character driven, would not consider antagonizing their fan base by signing any one of these players. Cale Makar, who was suspended from representing Hockey Canada even though he was not there when these allegations arose, made a crucial point in a 2024 interview. He said 'at the end of the day actions have consequences … regardless of the situation.' He might have added 'and we have a responsibility to learn from these actions.' Hockey Canada has a new CEO who, on July 25, 2025, outlined numerous steps that they have taken to 'transform the culture and safety of hockey.' What have they learned? Time will tell; we will be watching. Mac Horsburgh writes from Winnipeg where he was a course conductor in Hockey Canada's 'Speak Out' program.
CBC
21 hours ago
- CBC
Troy Ryan confirmed as Canadian women's hockey head coach for 2026 Olympics
Troy Ryan has been tasked with coaching the Canadian women's hockey team to another Olympic gold medal in 2026 in Milan-Cortina, Italy. Ryan was behind the bench in Beijing in 2022 when the Canadian women reclaimed hockey gold from the United States in a 3-2 final. The U.S. had beaten Canada 3-2 in a shootout for the title in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where Ryan was an assistant coach. Hockey Canada's announcement Thursday confirmed Ryan's return, although he'd signed an unprecedented four-year extension in 2022 that would make him the longest-tenured coach of the national women's team. Ryan navigated Canada to both an Olympic gold medal in Beijing and world championship wins in 2021, 2022 and 2024 after taking over midway through the 2019-20 season for Perry Pearn. Canada lost this year's world championship final 4-3 in overtime to the U.S. in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia. Korie Cheverie, former national team forward Caroline Ouellette and Britni Smith will be Ryan's assistant coaches in Italy, with Brad Kirkwood serving as goaltending consultant, Hockey Canada said in a statement. The coaches were chosen by women's team general manager Gina Kingsbury in consultation with Hockey Canada president and chief executive officer Katherine Henderson and senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations Scott Salmond. Women's sports are booming. Why now? "It is always an honour and privilege to be in this leadership position as we set our expectations and goals for the Olympics," Ryan said. "We have a tremendous coaching staff that is committed to the vision and process, and I am excited for the journey ahead. We know our athletes are motivated to compete, and we are eager to begin the work towards achieving something extraordinary in seven months time." Canada won a silver medal in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, where women's hockey made its Olympic debut. Four straight gold medals followed in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Canada's preparation for Italy will be different than previous Olympic Games because of the Professional Women's Hockey League starting its third season. Hockey Canada will fit training blocks around the PWHL's schedule. Ryan is head coach of the PWHL's Toronto Sceptres. Cheverie is head coach and Ouellette an assistant coach of the Montreal Victoire. "We have made a conscious effort to create an environment for our athletes where consistency among our coaches creates trust and accountability in each other," Kingsbury said. "Our staff are experienced, detail-oriented and passionate as they give our team the confidence to grow, compete and meet the challenges of both short-term and long-term competition. We continue to build something special with our group and we are excited to see it all come together as we compete for a gold medal in Milan." Cheverie of New Glasgow, N.S., was Ryan's assistant in the 2022 Olympic Games and for every world championship since 2021. Montreal's Ouellette, a four-time Olympic and six-time world gold medallist, has been Ryan's assistant in four straight world championships. Smith of Port Perry, Ont., coached at Syracuse University for the past three seasons and was Ryan's assistant at this year's world championship. Calgary's Kirkwood has been the team's goaltending consultant for the last decade and works with Ryan and the Sceptres as a goaltending assistant coach.
