Red Deer’s Brock England to play in 2026 CHL USA Prospects Challenge
Published 9:50 am Wednesday, September 23, 2026
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Red Deer’s Brock England will represent the Canadian Hockey League at the 2026 CHL USA Prospects Challenge.
The third annual event will bring together many of the top players eligible for the 2027 NHL Draft as Team CHL faces the U.S. National Under-18 Team. Across its first two editions, 42 of the 44 players who represented Team CHL were subsequently selected in the NHL Draft, including 27 in the first round.
On Wednesday, Sept. 23, the CHL announced England was among the first four players who will represent the league in the two-game series. The other three players announced were Dima Zhilkin of the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit, Alexis Joseph of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Saint John Sea Dogs and Carter Meyer of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts.
“Brock, Dima, Alexis and Carter have distinguished themselves through their performances for their clubs and on the international stage, and they provide an exciting first look at the talent that will represent Team CHL this December,” said Dan MacKenzie, CHL president.
Karl Stewart, vice-president and director of NHL Central Scouting, said England and Zhilkin are “dynamic, skilled forwards who generate offence.”
“England is poised to have a breakout season after winning gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, while Zhilkin is poised to be a top scorer in the OHL,” said Stewart.
“Alexis Joseph is that big, playmaking centre capable of being the difference-maker that all NHL teams covet, and Carter Meyer is a speedy centre with elite skills who is off to a great start in his first year in the CHL.”
Listed at five-foot-11 and 175 pounds, England led all 2009-born Western Hockey League skaters in both goals and points, recording 21 goals and 51 points in 64 games during his first full season. His 21 goals were the most by a 16-year-old Seattle Thunderbirds rookie since Patrick Marleau scored 32 in 1995–96.
Internationally, the centre won gold at both the 2025 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, where he collected seven points in five games, and the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he recorded four goals and five points in five games, including two goals in Canada’s 8–1 gold-medal victory over the United States.
England is set to become the 27th Thunderbird to participate in either the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game or the CHL USA Prospects Challenge. Seattle’s 26 previous representatives include Marleau, Thomas Hickey, Shea Theodore and Kevin Korchinski. Most recently, Braeden Cootes represented Seattle as a member of Team CHL at the inaugural CHL USA Prospects Challenge in 2024.
This year’s series opens Dec. 1 at the Georges-Vézina Centre in Chicoutimi, Que., before moving to the Vidéotron Centre in Quebec City, Que., on Dec. 2. The Chicoutimi Saguenéens and Québec Remparts will serve as host clubs.