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By Victor Kaisar

De Palma WJC

Blazers’ Dan De Palma added to Canada’s coaching staff at 2026 World Juniors

Jul 26, 2025 | 10:32 AM

KAMLOOPS — Dan De Palma is going back to the World Juniors this December.

The long-time Kamloops Blazers goaltending coach, who was recently promoted to Director of Goaltending Development, has been added to Team Canada’s coaching staff for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

De Palma was part of the coaching staff at last year’s tournament in Ottawa, where Canada finished in fifth place. De Palma and Brad Lauer, the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs, will represent the WHL on Canada’s coaching staff.

Lauer was named as an assistant coach alongside Moncton’s Gardiner MacDougall, while London’s Dale Hunter will serve as Canada’s head coach.

De Palma won two back-to-back gold medals with Team Canada at the U18 World Championships in 2024 and 2025. He also won gold at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and a silver at the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

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It’ll be the sixth consecutive year in which the Kamloops Blazers have had some kind of representation on Canada’s World Junior Team. Head Coach and General Manager Shaun Clouston was an assistant coach on the 2024 team that also finished in fifth place.

Logan Stankoven and Caedan Bankier played on the 2023 team that won gold, Stankoven and Dylan Garand won gold in 2022, while Garand and Connor Zary won silver in 2021.

Canada is scheduled to open the annual holiday tournament with a game against Czechia on Boxing Day, Dec. 26. They’ll also play Latvia, Denmark, and Finland in round-robin action.