Thunder Bay has long been known as a hockey hotbed, sending dozens of local players to the National Hockey League, and even a pair of players to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Yet, when it comes to the annual World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Thunder Bay’s representation is comparatively low.
This year’s tournament marked the second World Juniors selection for Thunder Bay’s Carter George, whose selection in last year’s event marked the first time a player from the city was selected since Mackenzie Blackwood in 2016. In fact, George is just the tenth player from Thunder Bay to be selected for Team Canada in the tournament since it first began in 1974, according to Hockey Canada.
“Being able to be a role model to those kids back in Thunder Bay, or just carry the pride of Thunder Bay to this international event was super special to me,” George said.
George, who was recently traded to the Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds, played for both the Thunder Bay Elks and the Thunder Bay Kings hockey programs before making the move to major junior hockey. In 2024, he was drafted in the second round of the NHL entry draft by the Los Angeles Kings.
His first appearance at the World Junior championships last year started out in superb fashion, beginning the tournament with a pair of shutouts against Finland and Germany, before Canada was knocked out in the quarter finals by the Czech Republic. This year, Canada walked away with a medal for the first time in three years.
And while the bronze medal he walked away with may not have been his first choice, this year’s tournament in Minneapolis offered a unique experience for the Kings prospect. With Thunder Bay only a six hour drive away, the 2026 World Juniors were the closest games George has played to his hometown in his major junior career.
“It truly meant the world to see all the support from Thunder Bay that came out,” George said. “They even broke out a Thunder Bay chant at one point, I think.”
Regardless of the colour of the medal, George’s journey to the national stage is proving influential for the Thunder Bay prospects following in his footsteps, says Thunder Bay Kings president Brent Rau.
Despite a lack of Thunder Bay representation at the World Juniors between the 2007 and 2016 tournaments, Rau says players in George’s age group were largely motivated by the Stanley Cup champions from the city at the time, including Jordan Staal and Robert Bortuzzo.
“The kids coming up now are definitely motivated by guys like Carter and people that are in the NHL right now,” Rau said.
Over the past two years, five players from Thunder Bay have been drafted into the OHL. Rau says there could be more than a few players from the city selected in the next few OHL drafts, adding that minor hockey in Thunder Bay has “got an extremely bright future.”
For George, he hopes that he is able to inspire the next generation of Thunder Bay talent in the same way Blackwood was able to for him.
“I took so much pride even though I wasn’t at the tournament, just knowing he was from Thunder Bay and seeing him on TV, I just wanted to be so successful in that moment,” George said. “I was in a little kids shoes looking up at another guy, and I hope there’s other kids looking at me right now.”
