Hockey Canada announced Tuesday that former Red Deer Rebel Brandon Hagel had joined Canada's national team for the 2024 IIHF World Championship.
The Morinville, Alta. native was a late addition to Team Canada and will be joined by Los Angeles Kings forward Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nick Paul on the roster.
The tournament, which runs from May 10-26 in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia, features the top men's hockey players and teams worldwide. Hagel will join the team in Budapest.
“We are excited to add Pierre-Luc, Brandon, and Nick to our roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship, as they will be valuable pieces of our team and provide leadership to our strong roster,” said general manager Rick Nash in a media release.
“All three bring previous world championship experience and over 700 games played in the NHL, and we look forward to them joining our team and helping us defend our gold medal.”
Hagel, 25, just completed his fourth full season in the National Hockey League (NHL) where he recorded a career-high 75 points (26g, 49a) in 82 games. He also added five points in five playoff games.
Previously drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 159th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, he was later signed to a deal by the Chicago Blackhawks.
He played most of the 2019-20 season with their AHL affiliate Rockford Ice Hogs before playing two seasons in Chicago from 2020-22.
However, he was traded to the Lightning during the 2021-22 season and has become one of the franchise's top players.
In his Major Junior Hockey days, Hagel played four seasons with the Rebels from 2015-19 scoring 103 goals and 176 assists for 279 points in 259 games. He also scored 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points in 33 playoff games.
Canada opens the tournament against Great Britain on May 11 at 4:20 a.m. Mountain time.
They will also take on Denmark, Austria, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Czechia in the preliminary round before the end of the tournament. The medal games are also set for May 26.