Whether it was club or country, defenceman Keaton Verhoeff did it all over the weekend. About all he didn’t do was wash the team bus in Kamloops or the plane that got him there in time.
On Saturday, Verhoeff captained Canada White to the gold medal in the World Under-17 Challenge in Sarnia, Ont., with a statement performance to show why he is projected as a first-round selection for the 2026 NHL draft. Verhoeff was named to the World Challenge U-17 tournament first all-star team on the blueline with fellow-Canadian Landon DuPont, the prodigy from the Everett Silvertips, who is only the ninth player to receive exceptional status to play major-junior hockey as a 15-year-old on a list that includes Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard.
After travelling from Sarnia to Kamloops, the Royals’ prize rookie blueliner Verhoeff scored the winning goal Monday afternoon as Victoria (11-5-3) beat the Blazers 3-1 in a Western Hockey League game. Verhoeff’s fifth goal of the season broke a 1-1 deadlock at 1:41 of the third period. Sophomore forward Cole Reschny, ranked for the first round of the 2025 NHL draft and the Royals’ other cornerstone of the future, put it away with an empty-net goal at 19:40.
Their talent levels have taken both Verhoeff and Reschny beyond club to representative play. These guys look on trajectory to see a lot more of the world as they continue their international paths. Verhoeff also represented Canada in the 2024 Youth Winter Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea, in January. Reschny began by medalling with his home province of Saskatchewan in the Canada Winter Games, representing Canada in last year’s World Under-17 Challenge and was team co-leading scorer as Canada won the gold medal in the 2024 Under-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup over the summer in Edmonton. Reschny has also been named to the Canadian Hockey League team that will play the U.S. Under-18 development team in the first Prospects Challenge games Nov. 26 at Canada Life Place in London, Ont., and Nov. 27 at Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ont. Future world junior tournaments could beckon both Reschny and Verhoeff.
“It’s special. Obviously, not a lot of guys get the opportunity to do it,” said the six-foot-four Verhoeff, in a statement in Sarnia over the weekend, 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 … to perform with my age group the best I can and show what I can do at the higher levels.”
The 16-year-old blueline sensation showed on Monday in Kamloops he’s not too shabby at the club level, either.
Meanwhile, Nolan Stewart’s fifth goal of the season opened scoring for Victoria at 16:58 of the first period before Jordan Keller levelled for Kamloops at 7:19 of the second period. First-star Dylan Ernst’s goaltending kept the Blazers (10-9-1) in the game with 39 saves. Jayden Kraus of the Royals made 25 saves for the victory. The Royals and Blazers have seen a lot of each other in the early season with Victoria pulling level to 2-2-1 in the fifth meeting.
It was the second game of Victoria’s eight-game road trip, the longest of the season, which began with a 5-2 win Saturday night over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Washington. Upcoming are five games in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference, beginning Friday against the Tigers in Medicine Hat and Saturday against the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. Games in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer follow on Nov. 20, Nov. 22 and Nov. 23. There is also a game Nov. 27 in Everett, Washington, against DuPont and the Western Conference-leading Silverbacks. The Royals don’t return to Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre until Nov. 29-30 against the Thunderbirds.
