Tournaments & Showcases
The CHL Canada Russia Series
For nearly two decades, the six-game series between CHL all-stars and the Russian under-20 team was the marquee in-season event for World Junior selection. It has been on hiatus since 2022.
The CHL Canada Russia Series, known for many years as the Subway Super Series and originally as the RE/MAX Canada-Russia Challenge (ADT took over the title sponsorship from 2004 to 2008), was an annual six-game showcase between rosters of CHL all-stars and a Russian national under-20 team. From 2003 through 2019 it was the most important in-season scouting event in Canadian junior hockey.
How it worked
Each November, the Russian national U20 program traveled to Canada for six games over six nights. The OHL hosted two, the QMJHL hosted two, and the WHL hosted two, with each league fielding a different all-star roster for its games. Hockey Canada used the series as a final tune-up and selection tool ahead of the World Junior Championship the following month.
Why it mattered for selection
- Players faced an international opponent in real CHL arenas under World Juniors-style pressure.
- Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence staff attended every game and ran post-series evaluations.
- Russian-side prospects often used the series as their own audition for the WJC.
- The format gave Hockey Canada a head-to-head data point against the team Canada was most likely to face in the medal round.
Current status
The 2019 edition was the last one played. The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to COVID-19, and the planned 2022 return was scrapped after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the IIHF suspension of Russian teams. It has not been held since. The CHL has explored alternative international showcases in the same November window, but no permanent successor has been formalized.
Note
If you read older articles about the Subway Super Series in present tense, they were written before COVID. The series has not been played since 2019.