Toronto, Ont. – Seven OHL players and a number of hockey operations representatives are Canadian World Junior gold medalists, contributing to a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over Czechia on Thursday in Halifax, N.S.
Canadian captain Shane Wright (Kingston Frontenacs) celebrated his 19th birthday with a goal while Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts) and Brennan Othmann (Peterborough Petes) both finished the gold medal game with two assists as Dylan Guenther scored the golden goal, solidifying Canada as the first country to win back-to-back golds at the World Juniors since 2008 & 2009.
OHL Players – Canada’s National Men’s Junior Team:
| Name | Team | Hometown | Position |
| Owen Beck | Mississauga Steelheads | Port Hope, Ont. | C |
| Brandt Clarke^ | Barrie Colts | Nepean, Ont. | D |
| Ethan Del Mastro* | Mississauga Steelheads | Freelton, Ont. | D |
| Ben Gaudreau | Sarnia Sting | Corbeil, Ont. | G |
| Jack Matier | Ottawa 67’s | Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. | D |
| Brennan Othmann* | Peterborough Petes | Pickering, Ont. | LW |
| Shane Wright^ | Kingston Frontenacs | Burlington, Ont. | C |
*- returnee from 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal team
^- Clarke (Los Angeles Kings) and Wright (Seattle Kraken) have spent the 2022-23 season in NHL
OHL staff returning with gold include management group lead James Boyd (Ottawa 67’s), assistant coach Alan Letang (Sarnia Sting), strength and conditioning coach Sean Young (Ottawa 67’s), equipment manager Chris Cook (Hamilton Bulldogs), athletic therapist Andy Brown (Owen Sound Attack) and security liaison Bob Martin (London Knights).
Canada played to a 3-0-0-1 mark in preliminary play to secure second place in Group A prior to defeating Slovakia and the United States in the quarter-final and semi-final, respectively.
A pair of OHL players return with silver medals as members of Team Czechia including defenceman Tomas Hamara (Kitchener Rangers) and centreman Matyas Sapovaliv (Saginaw Spirit), who each had assists in the gold medal finale.
Two OHL players return as bronze medalists after representing the United States, who defeated Sweden in an 8-7 overtime thriller earlier Thursday. Those names include forward Tyler Boucher (Ottawa 67’s) and goaltender Andrew Oke (Saginaw Spirit).
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Junior Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook and Twitter.
For full coverage of the 2023 World Juniors, visit IIHF.com.
