Willie Desjardins to coach CHL in 2025 Prospects Challenge against USA
A familiar face will lead some of the best junior hockey players next month.
On Thursday, the Canadian Hockey League announced the coaching staff for Team CHL at the 2026 CHL USA Prospects Challenge. Leading the crew will be former NHL head coach Willie Desjardins. The bench boss and general manager of the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers will have Jay McKee and Sylvain Favreau.
“We’re thrilled to have three exceptional coaches representing the CHL at this year’s CHL USA Prospects Challenge,” Dan MacKenzie, President of the CHL, said in a release. “Willie, Jay, and Sylvain have each proven themselves as leaders who develop players both on and off the ice. Their combined experience and success across the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL will bring tremendous knowledge and perspective to our players as they showcase their skills on an elite stage.”
Desjardins just led the Tigers to the franchise’s first Ed Chynoweth Cup since 2007, making it all the way to the Memorial Cup Final before ultimately losing to the London Knights. He has held his current role since 2019, only missing the playoffs once. This wouldn’t be the Climax, Sask. native’s first rodeo coaching a junior all-star team. He was the head coach for the WHL All-Stars five times in the Canada/Russia Super Series. Desjardins was also the head coach for the Canadian Men’s National Team at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
McKee has been the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs since 2021. He has helped his team make it to the playoffs every season under his tutelage, guiding the Bulldogs to an OHL Championship in 2022, falling one win short of the Memorial Cup that same season. Like Desjardins, McKee is a coaching alum of the Canada/Russia Series, serving as an assistant for the OHL in 2019.
Favreau is in his third season as the head coach of the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. In 2023-24, he helped put together a team that won the President’s Cup for the first time in 15 years. The former Halifax Mooseheads bench boss has also served as an assistant for Team Canada at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Team CHL revealed its first three players participating in the Prospects Challenge last month. Defenseman Ryan Lin (Vancouver Giants, WHL), forward Ryan Roobroeck (Niagara IceDogs, OHL) and defender Xavier Villeneuve (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL) will lead the team against the USNTDP Under-18 team.
Last year, the showcase took place in London and Oshawa, Ont., with Team CHL winning both games, outscoring the USNTDP 9-3. A fellow WHL coach was in charge of the CHL in 2024 as well, as Kelowna Rockets head coach Kris Mallette guided the team to the sweep.
This year’s games will take place on Nov. 25 and 26 in Alberta. The first game will be held at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome, while Game 2 will be at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena, home of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes.