Hockey Canada announced on Thursday that Lacombe's Daxon Rudolph, along with 43 other players, will don the maple leaf at the upcoming World U17 Hockey Challenge.
Split into two teams - Canada Red and Canada White - Rudolph will suit up for Team White as one of the top defencemen on the roster that will head to Sarnia, Ont. from Nov. 3-9 at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
All 44 members of Team Canada have been drafted into the Canadian Hockey League, 15 of them are from the Western Hockey League.
“Following a competitive summer camp and exciting start to the CHL season, we are thrilled to unveil the 44 athletes that will take the next step in the Program of Excellence and represent Canada at the U17 World Challenge,” said U17 head scout Benoit Roy in a media release.
“We believe we have assembled two strong teams that will give us the best chance to defend our gold medal, and we know all 44 players are excited to wear the Maple Leaf with Canada Red and Canada White in Sarnia next month.”
The 2024 U17 World Challenge kicks off on Nov. 3, with Canada White taking on Czechia at 1:30 p.m. MT and Canada Red taking on Finland at 5:30 p.m. MT.
Each team will play two preliminary-round games before the medal round, which will wrap up on Nov. 9.
Rudolph was taken first overall by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft and in his rookie season with the club so far he has a goal and an assist in six games.
The 16-year-old has represented his home province in multiple tournaments over the last couple of years and in 2024 suited up for Canada in the Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon.
in the 2023-24 season, he lit up the Canadian Sport School Hockey League as a member of the Northern Alberta Xtreme U18 Prep team with 59 points in 28 games.
That season he was named to the league U18 first-team all-star, Co-MVP, and was the top freshman.
