The initial roster, which includes three goaltenders, nine defenseman and 15 forwards was selected by National Junior Team general manager Alan Millar, head scout Byron Bonora and Mark Hunter, U20 lead with the Program of Excellence management group, with input from Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, and Benoit Roy, director of hockey operations.
This year’s event has the chance to be historic for North Dakota, as the program has a chance to have multiple players on the Canadian roster for the first time since 1983 (James Patrick, Gord Sherven) and the most active roster players at the tournament (3) since 2007 (Taylor Chorney – USA, Brian Lee – USA, Jonathan Toews – CAN).
Reschny has put together a solid start to his rookie campaign at North Dakota, as the forward currently paces the squad with 18 points and 16 assists in 16 games. The Macklin, Saskatchewan, native has been on a tear over the last few weeks with 14 points in the last nine games, including points in eight of those contests.
Verhoeff, who is the second-youngest player in college hockey this season, has tallied four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 16 contests to sit tied for second on the team among defensemen in points. The Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, native is also a plus-5 rating, has 19 blocked shots and is averaging over 19 minutes per game.
MacKenzie has been one of the best blueliners in the Western Hockey League this season, as he currently ranks fourth in scoring among defenseman with 31 points in 30 games for Edmonton. His 10 goals from the backend also sit tied for third in the WHL while his plus-22 rating is tied for fourth. He is expected to join North Dakota for the 2026-27 season.
The trio of players join Americans EJ Emery and Caleb Heil, who were named to their respective roster last Monday.
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