Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Tyler Hopkins has landed a spot on Team Canada’s 2026 World Junior Championship Summer Showcase in Windsor.
The CHL announced 31 players for the roster, and Hopkins is part of a group that also includes Caleb Malhotra, Daxon Rudolph, Carson Carels and Keaton Verhoeff. Three of those players were drafted in the top 10 of the 2026 NHL draft, so Hopkins is getting a chance to skate with some of the most highly regarded young talent in the program.
For Hopkins, the invitation is another step in a steady rise. The Campbellville, Ont.-born center has already worn Canada’s colors at the U-18 level on multiple occasions.
In 2024-25, he played six games at the U-18 World Championship and picked up one assist. He also appeared at that year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, adding an assist in five games.
His club season was split between two OHL teams after a midseason move. Hopkins spent two straight years with the Kingston Frontenacs before being traded to the Guelph Storm in the middle of this past season, finishing with 29 regular-season games for Kingston and 27 for Guelph. He wore an “A” as an alternate captain for both teams at different points.
Production followed him wherever he went. Hopkins scored 25 points with each club for a combined 50-point season in 56 games, an improvement on the 51 points he posted in 67 games in 2024-25.
Canada’s summer showcase runs from July 26 through Aug. 1 in Windsor, Ont. The team will practice on July 26 and 27 before facing Sweden on July 29, Finland on July 30 and the USA on Aug. 1.
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