Three Vancouver Giants players have been added to Canada鈥檚 National Men鈥檚 Under-18 Team camp roster ahead of the 2025 IIHF U18 Men鈥檚 World Championship.

On Monday, April 14, forward Cameron Schmidt joined goaltender Burke Hood and defenceman Ryan Lin, who were named to the preliminary roster on Saturday.

"Vancouver Giants are proud to see Cameron earn another opportunity to represent Canada on the international stage," Giants General Manager Barclay Parneta said. "We look forward to watching he and his two Giants teammates help Canada defend the gold medal."

 "It鈥檚 a testament to their hard work, dedication and the commitment they bring to the game every day. We know they鈥檒l wear the Maple Leaf with pride and make the entire Giants organization proud."

Schmidt became just the sixth Giants skater to score 40 or more goals in a single season in 2024-25 and he did so in just his second year in the league. He led Vancouver in scoring with 78 points in 61 games (40G-38A), becoming the first Giant younger than 18 to lead the team in scoring since 2012-13, when a 17-year-old Jackson Houck had 57 points. He won a gold medal with Hockey Canada at the World U17 Hockey Challenge in 2023, where he scored the golden goal, and won gold again at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August of 2024.

Hood, who is in his first year of NHL Draft eligibility, went 19-13-6 in 42 appearances in his rookie season in the WHL with a .910 save percentage, which was tied for 5th-best amongst all WHL goaltenders who played in at least 25 games. This will be Hood's first time representing Canada on the international stage, though he did play for Manitoba at the 2023 Canada Winter Games.

Lin is one of eight underagers (born in 2008) named to Hockey Canada's U18 preliminary roster. The 16-year-old defenceman recorded 53 points this year, becoming just the second rookie WHL defenceman aged 16 or younger to hit the 50-point mark in 35 years, joining Everett鈥檚 Landon Dupont as the only two to accomplish the feat since Hockey Hall of Famer and Kamloops Blazers legend Scott Niedermayer in 1989-90. Lin won gold with Hockey Canada at the World U17 Hockey Challenge in November of 2024.

More roster additions will be announced in the coming weeks following the conclusion of the second round of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) playoffs, while the final roster for the 2025 IIHF U18 Men鈥檚 World Championship will be announced prior to the start of the tournament.

The 2025 IIHF U18 Men鈥檚 World Championship kicks off on April 23, with Canada taking on Slovakia, Latvia, Finland and Norway in the preliminary round before the tournament concludes with the medal games on May 3.