Men's Worlds Preview: Canada vs. Denmark
Monday, May 18 | 10:20 a.m. ET | Fribourg, Switzerland | Preliminary Round
It's a rematch of the 2025 quarterfinals as Canada's National Men's Team faces Denmark in the third of seven preliminary-round games at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland.
Canada earned its second win in as many days with a 6-0 victory over Italy on Saturday. Captain Macklin Celebrini led with two goals and an assist, Dylan Holloway and Ryan O'Reilly each had a goal and an assist, and Cam Talbot made 19 saves to record his fifth shutout in nine Men's World Championship appearances.
Denmark was last on the ice yesterday, falling 6-2 to Sweden for its second loss of the tournament. Both Danish goals were scored on the power play: Joachim Blichfeld got one in the middle frame and Mikkel Aagaard recorded his power-play marker midway through the third period.
Last Meeting
It was a quarterfinal meeting many Canadians would like to forget. Canada faced Denmark a year ago in Herning, falling 2-1 to the co-hosts to end its quest for a 29th gold medal. After two scoreless periods, Travis Sanheim scored 5:17 into the third to give the Canadians the lead. Nikolaj Ehlers tied the game with 2:17 left and an extra attacker on before Nick Olesen scored the game-winning goal with 49 seconds remaining.
What to Watch
Macklin Celebrini's offensive prowess was on full display against the Italians, scoring twice and adding an assist, and he is a plus-three over two games. Celebrini is no stranger to scoring on the international stage—he has recorded 19 goals and 41 points over 30 games wearing the Maple Leaf. At the other end of the ice, the Canadians have a tremendous one-two punch between the pipes, with Cam Talbot and Jet Greaves each having a game under their belts in Fribourg. Talbot won gold at the 2016 Men's Worlds, registering a 1.25 goals-against average and recording four shutouts over eight games. Meanwhile, this is Greaves' first international appearance—he made 22 saves against Sweden in Canada's opening game.
The Danes have 14 players back from the team that played for bronze a year ago, and 13 who were Olympians in Milan, where Denmark finished ninth. Olesen—who scored the game-winner against Canada last year—is back, making his sixth Men's Worlds appearance. He notched four goals and five points over four games at the Olympics. Dichow, who made 39 saves in the 2025 quarterfinal, is back in the crease. And talk about experience on the blueline: Jesper Jensen Aabo is playing in his 15th world championship; he made his debut as the youngest member of the Danish team back in 2011 at 19 years old.
A Look Back
This is the 11th meeting between Canada and Denmark, with the Canadians winning seven of the first 10.
Canada's highest single-game offensive output came at the expense of the Danes—the Sudbury Wolves beat Denmark 47-0 en route to a silver medal in 1949. Canada's last win against the Danes was a 5-1 preliminary-round victory in 2024—Connor Bedard led the way with two goals and an assist in that one.
All-time record: Canada leads 7-2-1
Canada goals: 83
Denmark goals: 14
Men's Worlds Preview: Canada vs. Italy
Saturday, May 16 | 10:20 a.m. ET | Fribourg, Switzerland | Preliminary Round
Coming off a tournament-opening win, Canada's National Men's Team gets right back on the ice Saturday at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, facing Italy as the preliminary round continues in Switzerland.
Canada opened Group B play with a 5-3 win over Sweden on Friday. The Canadians got out to an early 2-0 lead with goals from veterans John Tavares and Ryan O'Reilly before the Swedes pulled even. Dylan Holloway regained the lead in the second period before Connor Brown and Dylan Cozens put Canada ahead for good in the third. Jet Greaves earned his first international win in his first appearance wearing the Maple Leaf, making 22 saves.
Italy wrapped up its pre-tournament schedule with a 5-3 loss to Great Britain on Tuesday. Matt Bradley and Marco Zanetti helped the Italians to a 2-0 lead midway through the second period and Phil Pietroniro made it 3-1 in the third before the British made a late comeback and scored four unanswered to leave Italy with the loss.
Last Meeting
We have to go back to 2022 for the last time Canada and Italy faced off at Men's Worlds, with the Canadians earning a 6-1 win. Pietroniro opened the scoring for the Italians before Canada scored the final six goals. Josh Anderson and Dysin Mayo had a goal and an assist each, Dawson Mercer had two helpers, and Chris Driedger made 11 saves.
What to Watch
Sharing is caring, and Canada proved against Sweden that its offence can be shared across multiple lines. With five different goal scorers (Tavares, O'Reilly, Holloway, Brown, Cozens) across three lines at even strength, the Canadians showed that any line can change the game—and the score. Ironically, the only line that didn't get into the offensive act was the one that got the most attention going into the game—captain Macklin Celebrini between Sidney Crosby and Mark Scheifele. That trio has historically had no trouble producing offence internationally—in 150 Team Canada games ranging from the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge to the Olympic Winter Games, Celebrini, Crosby, and Scheifele have combined for 178 points (81-97-178).
The Italians have a familiar face behind the bench in Finnish-born bench boss Jukka Jalonen, whose résumé includes an Olympic gold medal (2022), three at the IIHF World Championship (2011, 2019, 2022) and one at the IIHF World Junior Championship (2016), in addition to Olympic bronze (2010) and Men's Worlds silver (2021). There are nine Italian-Canadians on the roster. Montreal-born defender Pietroniro will make his third appearance in the Top Division. He had two assists at the Olympics in February and a goal and two helpers at Beijing 2022. Vancouver-born forward Bradley scored two of Italy's four goals in Milan and is making his Men's Worlds debut.
A Look Back
Saturday's game will mark the 17th meeting between Canada and Italy, with the Canadians unbeaten thus far with 14 wins and two ties.
Canada has allowed just five goals in seven games since 2000 (the Italians haven't recorded more than one goal since 1999) and have five shutouts—the most recent a 24-save effort by Marty Turco in a 5-0 win in 2002.
All-time record: Canada leads 14-0-2
Canada goals: 89
Italy goals: 17
Men's Worlds Preview: Canada vs. Sweden
Friday, May 15 | 10:20 a.m. ET | Fribourg, Switzerland | Preliminary Round
Let the tournament begin! Canada's National Men's Team takes on Sweden to open the preliminary round Friday at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, beginning its quest for a 29th gold medal.
Canada wrapped up a perfect pre-tournament schedule with a 3-1 win over Hungary on Wednesday. Mark Scheifele and Dylan Cozens found the back of the net on the power play early in the first period, and John Tavares rounded out the scoring with 4:40 left in the opening frame.
Sweden fell 5-1 to Finland in pre-tournament action Sunday. Erik Brännström tied the game midway through the first period, with an assist from Liam Öhgren. Arvid Söderblom made 14 saves for Sweden, including a save on a penalty shot from Patrik Puistola.
Last Meeting
Canada wrapped up the preliminary round a year ago with a 5-3 win over Sweden to earn top spot in Group A. Travis Sanheim got Canada on the board only 18 seconds into the game, with Tyson Foerster and Ryan O'Reilly making it a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes. Macklin Celebrini buried a pass from Sidney Crosby for the game-winning goal and Nathan MacKinnon scored early in the third period.
What to Watch
From new faces to seasoned veterans, this Canadian team has something for everyone. The team's latest addition was Sidney Crosby, back wearing the Maple Leaf after representing Canada at the Olympics in February and at last year's Men's Worlds in Sweden. Young superstar Macklin Celebrini returns for his second Men's Worlds appearance and sported the 'C' for both of Canada's pre-tournament games after putting up 45 goals and 115 points with the San Jose Sharks this season. Ryan O'Reilly is the all-time leader for games played by a Canadian at the IIHF World Championship (63), passing Ryan Smyth last year. And in addition to the experience on the roster, three Canadians will make their international debuts in Switzerland: Dylan DeMelo, Emmitt Finnie, and Jet Greaves.
The Swedish roster boasts 12 NHLers, down from the 21 who won bronze on home ice last year. Leading the way offensively is Lucas Raymond—the winger had 25 goals and 76 points with the Detroit Red Wings this season—and veterans Mattias Ekholm (Edmonton) and Oliver Ekman Larsson (Toronto) lead the group on the blue line. The Swedes also have an injection of youth, with four players on the roster who helped win World Juniors gold in January—goaltender Love Härenstam and forwards Viggo Björck, Anton Frondeland, and Ivar Stenberg. There will be extra eyes on Stenberg and Björck, who ranked first and fourth, respectively, among international skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting ranking and project to go very early in the 2026 NHL Draft.
A Look Back
No opponent has been a more frequent foe for Canada at the IIHF World Championship than Sweden; Friday's game will mark the 71st meeting between the longtime rivals, dating back to a scoreless tie in 1931.
Despite the long history, this will be the first time the Canadians and Swedes meet in a tournament opener since the Trail Smoke Eaters downed Sweden 6-1 all the way back in 1961.
All-time record: Canada leads 37-28-5 (3-3 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 249
Sweden goals: 198
23 players named to National Men's Team for 2026 IIHF World Championship
12 previous Men's Worlds participants among group headed to Zürich and Fribourg
NR.029.26
CALGARY, Alberta – Hockey Canada has announced the 23 players who will wear the Maple Leaf with Canada's National Men's Team at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, May 15-31 in Zürich and Fribourg, Switzerland.
The roster, which includes three goaltenders, eight defencemen, and 12 forwards, was selected by the management group, which includes Brad Treliving and Jason Spezza, with support from Kyle Dubas and Scott Salmond. Two NHL executives – Gregory Campbell and Andrew Cogliano – also assisted with player selections, while head coach Misha Donskov and the coaching staff provided input.
Among the 23 players are 12 who have previously suited up for Canada at the IIHF World Championship (Barzal, Brown, Celebrini, Cozens, Nurse, O'Reilly, Rielly, Scheifele, Tavares, Talbot, Vilardi, Whitecloud) and two Olympic.