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.
“It’s special. Obviously, not a lot of guys get the opportunity to do it,” Verhoeff said about going from club to country. 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.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.