Langford’s Giorgos Pantelas is back home with a new piece of hardware and a big smile to match.
The 17-year-old defenceman helped Canada secure bronze at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, an international best-on-best U18 hockey tournament held Aug. 11 to 16 in Czechia and Slovakia.
Canada stormed through the round robin, beating Finland 5-3, Switzerland 9-1, and the host Czechs 5-0 before a heartbreaking 4-3 shootout loss to the United States in the semifinals.
They rebounded the next day with a 3-0 shutout over Finland to clinch bronze, while U.S. would go on to defeat Sweden 5-3 for the gold medal.
GAME OVER! It's bronze in Brno. 🇨🇦🇫🇮
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 16, 2025
MATCH FINI! Le bronze à Brno. 🇨🇦🇫🇮
📊 https://t.co/rbhF3cmTCK
📊 https://t.co/fhTncMQfbx #HlinkaGretzkyCup | #CoupeHlinkaGretzky pic.twitter.com/iGLd5Bt1E7
“It was a very good tournament. Every team came there to compete,” Pantelas told the Goldstream News Gazette. “We had a really good chance of winning. It was just that one game that messed us up, but other than that, it was a great group of guys on and off the ice.”
The Langford native, who patrols the blue line for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, called the semifinal clash with the Americans one of the most intense games he has ever played.
“That was the first time I’ve ever played against the U.S. wearing the Canadian flag. It was really special,” the defenceman said. “It was the most physical game I’ve been part of in a long time. Every little mistake changed the game.”
Pantelas skated alongside some of the top young defencemen in the world, including former Victoria Royal Keaton Verhoeff, Vancouver Giants blueliner Ryan Lin, CHL rookie of the year Landon Dupont, and Prince Albert’s Daxon Rudolph.
“I only spent two weeks with them, but the amount I learned was incredible,” he said. “You could see why they dominate their leagues. Guys like Rudolph, for example, he’ll make plays you didn’t even know were there. Just incredible.”
The bronze medal marks Pantelas’ second time wearing the maple leaf. Last year he helped Canada win gold at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge.
Standing 6'2" and weighing 214 pounds, the right-shot defenceman is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft and knows the tournament experience will pay dividends heading into another WHL season.
“I’m hoping to take some quick puck movement, some speed, and just show everyone what I’m really good at heading into next season,” he said. “So far it’s been my physical presence that has brought me here, but I want to keep building my offensive game too.”
For now, the medal has already found a permanent spot at home.
“I’m definitely going to cherish this medal. It’s going to be hung up on the wall forever,” he said. “Even when I’m done playing, this will be one of the first medals I look at.”
Since the tournament’s inception in 1991, Canada has collected 25 golds, three silvers and two bronzes.
Next year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup will be hosted in Edmonton, Alta.
