As the 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship approaches — set for May 9 to May 25 in Sweden and Denmark — Trail will once again punch above its weight in the international hockey scene.
The Trail Smoke Eaters Junior Hockey Club will be represented by a trio of names with deep roots in the city’s hockey culture, two on the bench and one on the ice.
Former Smoke Eaters defenceman Steve McCarthy has been named an assistant coach for Team Canada.
A product of Trail’s rich hockey tradition, McCarthy was a standout on the 1996–97 Smoke Eaters roster before graduating to major-junior in Alberta with the Edmonton Ice.
In his sophomore season, the Ice relocated to the Kootenays and he played out of Cranbrook for two years before turning pro and making NHL stops with the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and Atlanta Thrashers.
McCarthy’s connection to Hockey Canada runs deep.
During his major-junior career, he captained Canada to a bronze medal at the 2000 World Junior Championship.
Now, he'll be on the bench in his first coaching role with the national team, after spending the last five years as an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
He’s not the only Smoke Eaters alumnus making headlines.
Kent Johnson, who electrified the BCHL with a 101-point season for Trail in 2019–20, will also be one to watch.
Drafted fifth overall by Columbus in 2021, Johnson has steadily grown into a key figure for the Blue Jackets.
His international credentials include scoring the overtime winner that clinched silver for Canada at the 2022 World Championship.
Now with 198 NHL games under his belt and 116 points (46 goals, 70 assists), the skilled forward continues to prove his elite talent.
And behind Canada’s bench, another Trail connection: Ryan Huska.
Now the head coach of the Calgary Flames, Huska brings experience and poise to the international stage, having previously served behind the bench for Canada’s World Junior teams in 2011 and 2012.
His Trail upbringing shaped a coaching path that’s taken him to the NHL and now back to the global spotlight.
“From Trail to Team Canada, we’re proud to see our hometown talent shine on the world stage,” the Smoke Eaters shared.
