With less than a month until the puck drops at the 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, Hockey Canada has announced the staff that will build and guide Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team in Bratislava and Trencin, Slovakia. Former National Hockey League bench boss Drew Bannister (Belleville, ON) will serve as head coach, working alongside assistant coaches Matt Anholt (Prince Albert, SK/Lethbridge, WHL) and Mark O’Leary (Owen Sound, ON/Moose Jaw, WHL), goaltending coach Dan De Palma (Kamloops, BC/Kamloops, WHL), who returns for the third-consecutive year, and video coach Ryan Aasman (Medicine Hat, AB/Lethbridge, WHL). The coaching and support staffs were selected by general manager Alan Millar (Tottenham, ON) and director of hockey operations Benoit Roy (Sudbury, ON), with support from Scott Salmond (Creston, BC), senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations. “We are thrilled to announce the coaching staff that is tasked with leading Team Canada at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship with the goal of winning a third-straight gold medal,” Millar said. “With Drew’s résumé as a head coach in the National Hockey League, he is poised to be a great leader for our team, and Matt and Mark bring many years of experience in the Canadian Hockey League, as well as in international competition. We are confident in this group’s ability to proudly represent Canada in Slovakia.” Bannister last served as head coach of the St. Louis Blues during the 2024-25 season after being promoted from the American Hockey League’s Springfield Thunderbirds, where he served more than two seasons (2021-23) as head coach. He also spent three seasons (2015-18) as head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Internationally, Bannister served as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2025 Spengler Cup, won a gold medal as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and was an assistant with Ontario at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. As a player, he won a gold medal with Canada’s National Junior Team at the 1994 IIHF World Junior Championship. Anholt recently completed his first season as head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL) after being named associate coach in 2025. He has also served as an assistant coach with Canada Red at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 2023 and 2024. O’Leary is entering his sixth season as head coach of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors after serving as an assistant coach since the 2012-13 season, winning the WHL championship for the first time in franchise history in 2024. Internationally, he was head coach of Canada Black at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and was an assistant coach for Canada Red at the 2018 edition of the tournament. The support staff that will work with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship includes:
Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team will take on Sweden at Ondrej Nepala Arena in Bratislava on April 17 and Czechia at the Pavol Demitra Ice Hockey Arena in Trencin on April 19 in pre-tournament action. The 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship kicks off on April 22, with Canada taking on Slovakia, Latvia, Norway and Finland in the preliminary round before the tournament concludes with the medal games on May 2. TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast 16 and 10 tournament games, respectively. TSN will broadcast all Team Canada preliminary-round games, as well as the quarterfinals, semifinals and medal games, while RDS will broadcast all Team Canada preliminary-round games, two quarterfinals, the semifinals and medal games. For more information on the 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, please visit the official tournament website at IIHF.com. For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca or follow through social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.