London Knights' owner named Team Canada's head coach at 2026 World Juniors championship

The long-time owner of the London Knights has been named head coach of Canada's national junior hockey team for an international championship next year, Hockey Canada announced on Thursday.

Dale Hunter will lead the Canadian team to the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, and his brother Mark Hunter will serve as a member of the team's management group, when it's held in Switzerland in May 2026

"Dale's resume speaks for itself: three Memorial Cups, three OHL Coach of the Year awards and two international gold medals," Alan Millar, general manager of the team's program of excellence, said in a news release.

"His passion for this program runs deep, and we feel he is the best candidate to lead us to a gold medal in Minnesota."

This is the second time the London Knights' bench boss has been roped as the national team's head coach. He previously served in the role for the 2020 world junior hockey championship in the Czech Republic, where the team won a gold medal.

Hunter has won multiple national and provincial coaching honours, and most recently, led the London Knights to their third Memorial Cup victory last month, after beating the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1.

Hunter has coached the Knights in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for 24 straight seasons since 2001 and has served in various roles for the franchise.

In his role on the management group, Mark will assist the team's executives with all hockey operations-related matters, including supporting player evaluations and the 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 Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations.

"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."

Team Canada's juniors will start preparing for the 2026 championship at the World Junior summer showcase in Minnesota from July 27 to Aug. 2. They will join Finland, Sweden and the United States.