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In late May, Saskatoon Blades head coach Dan DaSilva received word from associate general manager Steve Hildebrand a phone call would be coming his way.
It was one which he’s waited his entire hockey life to hear — Team Canada was knocking on his door.
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“(Hildebrand) had mentioned to me that Alan Millar from Hockey Canada was going to be giving me a call to discuss potentially leading one of the Hockey Canada teams for the under-17 hockey tournament in the fall,” DaSilva said.
DaSilva, 41, will be behind the bench for his first international tournament in November as part of Team Canada Red’s coaching staff at the 2026 U17 World Challenge in Oakville, Ont.
“Growing up you always want to play or coach for your country,” DaSilva said.
“I never had the opportunity to as a player, so this is my first chance and first crack at it here as a coach. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to represent our country.”
DaSilva, who is from Saskatoon, will lead the Canada Red staff as head coach for the six-team tournament which pits the best U17 players from Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland and Czechia against each other.
Tournament alumni include NHL stars like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Alexander Ovechkin and Patrick Kane.
Saskatoon Blades head coach Dan DaSilva is set to make his international coaching debut with Hockey Canada at the 2026 U17 World Challenge. (Steve Hiscock, Saskatoon Blades/Submitted)
“You’re working with the best of the best in the country,” DaSilva said.
“I don’t even know if I’ve fully wrapped my head around that quite yet. It’s all so new here and I think it’ll definitely settle in when I get to Oakville next week for the summer camp.”
DaSilva is coming off his second season as head coach of the Blades, in which he led the team to the second round of WHL playoffs and has compiled a career 76-50-15 record as head coach of the team.
The U17 World Challenge is the entry point for Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, both for players and coaches which DaSilva said will be a new experience for himself and his teenage athletes.
“That’s going to be something that’s a lot of fun,” DaSilva said.
“Their first time going through the Hockey Canada process, my first time going through the Hockey Canada process. I think we’ll be able to lean on that, as there will be nerves I’m sure for the players.”
It’s the second time in four years a Blades head coach has been selected by Hockey Canada for the U17 World Challenge, as DaSilva’s predecessor, Brennan Sonne, coached at the 2023 event in Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I.
During that stretch, DaSilva gained his first head coaching experience with the Blades before he took over the full-time role from Sonne in the summer of 2024.
“We ended up going 5-0, which I definitely can’t take all the credit for,” DaSilva said. “We had a really good team that year and the players really rallied around the opportunity to help me as a head coach.”
No concrete plan has been decided upon for when DaSilva leaves the Blades for the tournament, but he expects a larger role for assistant coach Andrew Sarauer, who on Friday signed a two-year contract extension.
“My initial thoughts would be that Andrew Sarauer would step in and take on the interim head coaching position while I was away,” DaSilva said.
“Just based on seniority, him and I have worked together now for a few years and I think he would be more than ready to fill in while I was away.”
Blades goaltending coach Jeff Harvey will also return to the international stage, named to Team Canada’s U18 coaching staff for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup next month in Edmonton.
“I’m happy for him to be recognized as one of the top young goalie coaches in the country,” DaSilva said.
“I’m happy for him to have the opportunity with the (Hlinka Gretzky Cup) and just continue to see him do a great job.”
Both will be part of U17 development camp with Hockey Canada from July 17-21 in Oakville, before the tournament runs from Nov. 1-7.
The 2026-27 WHL season will see changes to the WHL schedule and travel regulations aimed at improving the overall WHL Player Experience in response to feedback received directly through a survey of WHL players. pic.twitter.com/WbGDNfPj84
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) June 30, 2026
New rules incoming for WHL
Set to enter his third season as Blades head coach, DaSilva will have to contend with a series of rules and schedule changes presented by the WHL this off-season.
The WHL regular season will start one week earlier and end one week later to better space out the 68-game calendar, with the season beginning on Sept. 18 and ending March 28, 2027.
To accommodate an extra week of regular season play, the WHL has announced the opening round of playoffs will be shrunk from a best-of-seven series down to a best-of-five.
“It’s not my favourite change,” DaSilva said.
“I’m a fan of the best-of-seven playoff series if I’m being honest, but the league felt that was something that was important to do. They have their reasons for that and for the rest of us, we just have to kind of live with it.”
One incoming rule change that has earned a thumbs up from DaSilva is a “no return” pilot rule in three-on-three overtime which will ban skaters from bringing the puck back outside the blue line once the offensive zone has been gained.
The rule will be piloted during the upcoming pre-season, before league general managers vote on the rule’s implementation for the regular season.
“I assume that there is going to be a new trend that you’ll see in overtime,” DaSilva said.
“Coaches will find a way to adapt to that new rule and the players will as well. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.”
WHL clubs have also been permitted for air travel for one lengthy road trip per season, which the league says is being done to enhance player experience to compete with other junior and collegiate programs like the NCAA.
The Blades, meanwhile, are still waiting official word from forwards Zach Olsen and Hayden Harsanyi regarding their plans for next season according to DaSilva, whether they’ll return to Saskatoon or fulfill their commitments to Colorado College.
DaSilva said there’s nothing definitive to announce around either player.
“We’ve had lots of communication over the past few weeks and months since the season ended,” DaSilva said.
“We haven’t had a clear response yet. Obviously, our fingers are crossed that everyone is going to be returning this fall.”
The Blades kick off the 2026-27 WHL pre-season on Sept. 1 with a home game against the Prince Albert Raiders.
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