A promising young player from the Brandon Wheat Kings has earned a chance to represent his country on the international stage. Chase Surkan, a 17-year-old forward from Regina, Saskatchewan, has been named to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team training camp for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
The Brandon Wheat Kings announced the selection on July 22, 2026. Surkan, who wears number 11 for the Wheat Kings, is coming off an impressive rookie season in the Western Hockey League. In 45 games, he scored 20 goals and added 18 assists for 38 points, leading all Wheat Kings rookies. His performance placed him among the top scorers invited to the national camp.
“Chase Surkan has been named to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team training camp roster ahead of the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup,” the team said in a social media post.
Surkan is no stranger to Hockey Canada’s program. He previously won a gold medal with Canada Red at the 2025 U17 World Challenge, where he tallied seven points in five games. The Wheat Kings selected him 14th overall in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft after a record-setting season with his bantam team, where he scored 73 goals and 135 points in just 27 games.
The training camp runs from July 27 to August 1 in Edmonton, Alberta, with practices at NAIT Arena and Rogers Place. Exhibition games against Sweden on July 30 and Czechia on August 1 will help determine the final roster. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup takes place from August 3 to 8 at Rogers Place and the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton. Canada opens the tournament against Switzerland on August 3 at 5 p.m. Mountain Time.
Canada is chasing its 26th gold medal at the annual under-18 tournament and its first since winning on home ice in Edmonton in 2024. Surkan becomes the latest Wheat King to join the national camp, continuing a streak that has seen the team send players to the event every year since Canada resumed participation after the COVID-19 pandemic. He will be coached by Ryan Oulahen, who was an assistant coach when Canada won gold two years ago.
