While his Victoria Royals teammates were beating the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-2 in a Western Hockey League game in Kent, Washington, defenceman Keaton Verhoeff was immersed in a golden glow of his own atop the podium in Sarnia, Ont., on Saturday.
The Royals’ prize rookie captained Canada White to the gold medal in the World Under-17 Challenge with a commanding performance to show why he is likely to be a first-round selection in the 2026 NHL draft.
“It’s special. Obviously, not a lot of guys get the opportunity to do it,” Verhoeff said about going from club to country.
“It’s quite the honour. Just jumping away from that major-junior [club] lifestyle, it’s a good break. But it’s also [been] a big tournament with lots of games. I was just excited to come out here and perform with my age group the best I can and show what I can do at the higher levels.”
Verhoeff’s keen on-ice acumen was best exemplified by his cross-ice pass that Mathis Preston one-timed into the net for a 2-0 lead in the second period enroute to Canada White’s 3-1 victory over Canada Red in the Under-17 World Challenge championship game in Sarnia.
Canada White had dispatched Finland in the quarter-finals and Sweden in the semifinals.
It continues the international path being undertaken by the two Royals cornerstones of the future. Verhoeff also represented Canada in the 2024 Youth Winter Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea, in January. The Royals’ sophomore forward Cole Reschny, ranked for the first round of the 2025 NHL draft and who played in last year’s World Under-17 Challenge, was team co-leading scoring leader as Canada won the gold medal in the 2024 Under-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton.
Meanwhile, the Royals moved to 10-5-3 with the win against the WHL Western Conference last-place Thunderbirds (5-11-3) as Teydon Trembecky had two goals and Caleb Matthews a goal and assist.
It was the start of an eight-game road trip, the longest of the season for Victoria, which continues Monday in Kamloops against the Blazers before five games in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference and a game Nov. 27 in Everett, Washington, against the Silverbacks. The Royals return to the Memorial Centre on Nov. 29-30 against the Thunderbirds.
