Braden Reilly, a 16-year-old forward from Milton, was added on Thursday, Nov. 5, to Canada Red at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Oakville. He replaced forward Tanner Adams, who will miss the rest of the tournament.
The tournament, in its 34th edition, runs Nov. 1-7 at the 1,500-seat Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. It is the first step in Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence, the national body's path to its national teams, and brings together two Canadian teams and four international entries. More than 2,000 future NHL draft picks have played in it since it began in 1986.
Kitchener chose Reilly in the first round, 19th overall, of the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, the Ontario Hockey League's draft of young players. This season he plays junior hockey with the Cambridge Redhawks of the Greater Ontario Hockey League, where he had nine goals and 11 assists in 14 games at the time of his call-up, tied for third among the league's rookies in scoring, according to the announcement of his addition. The right-shooting forward wears No. 9 for Canada Red.
He isn't the only local player on the roster: Oakville's Landon Roulston, a Peterborough forward taken 13th overall in the 2026 OHL draft, also plays for Canada Red.
Reilly joined a team that had already reached the semifinals, but the run ended there. Czechia beat Canada Red by a goal on Friday, Nov. 6, and the United States beat Canada White in the other semifinal that evening, so neither Canadian team is playing for gold.
| Game | Result |
|---|---|
| Game 9 | Czechia 4, Canada Red 3 |
| Game 10 | United States 5, Canada White 2 |
Canada Red came in as the defending champion: last year's final saw it beat Canada White 6-3.
The tournament wraps up with the medal games on Saturday, Nov. 7, in Oakville.
