A highly-touted hockey player from Central Alberta has won a gold medal at the U17 World Challenge.
Lacombe's Daxon Rudolph, 16, played for Canada White, which defeated Canada Red 3-1 in the tournament's gold-medal game on Saturday, Nov. 9, in Sarnia, Ont. The win marks the second consecutive gold medal for Canada White at the U17 World Challenge.
"It was awesome being there," Rudolph said.
"The group of guys we had was pretty special. We bonded really well off the ice and I think that led to our success on the ice. ... It was cool playing against players from other countries you don't get to play against every day. I think they really challenged us."
Canada White went 1-0-0-1 in preliminary round play – the only blemish coming in a 5-4 overtime loss to Sweden. That sent Canada White to the quarter-finals, where they knocked off Finland 4-2, before exacting revenge on Sweden with a 6-4 triumph in the semifinal to punch a ticket to the gold-medal game. Canada Red went 2-0-0-0 in preliminary round action to claim first place in Group A, before knocking off the United States by a 7-3 margin in the semifinal.
Overall, Canada White featured eight WHL players, while Canada Red featured seven. All 44 members of the two Canadian squads were Canadian Hockey League draft picks.
Many high-profile National Hockey League players have competed in the U17 World Challenge, including Connor McDavid in 2015, Auston Matthews in 2016 and Macklin Celebrini in 2024.
Rudolph was held off the score sheet through his team's five games at this year's U17 World Challenge, which ran from Nov. 3-9.
The right-handed defenceman currently plays for the Prince Alberta Raiders of the Western Hockey League. He has one goal and two assists in 12 games so far this season.
"I'm going to try to get better every day ... and do what I can to help the team get some wins and get into the post-season," said Rudolph.
The six-foot-one, 185-pound defender was selected first overall by the Raiders in the 2023 WHL Draft. In the 2022-23 season, ahead of being drafted, Rudolph scored 50 points in 30 games with the Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep squad.
Then in 2023-24, Rudolph scored 59 points in 29 games with the Northern Alberta Xtreme U18 Prep team, which was second among all defencemen in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. He was named the league’s top freshman and co-MVP of the season, alongside Yale Hockey Academy’s Tommy Lafreniere.
Rudolph has represented his home province in multiple tournaments over the past couple of years and suited up for Canada in the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea.
