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Finland, Latvia Awarded 2023 World Championship

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May 27: The Worlds have officially been awarded to Finland and Latvia for 2023, while Switzerland has landed the 2026 event. Several other events have also been decided.

May 24: It appears as though the IIHF World Championship may not be leaving Finland at the end of the month. The country, along with Latvia, has submitted a new bid for the 2023 event, which had previously been stripped from Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. There had been a joint application submitted by Hungary and Slovenia but it has now been withdrawn.

That means this new bid from Finland and Latvia–Tampere and Riga specifically–is currently the only application for the event, set for May 2023. The IIHF explains that Nokia Arena in Tampere, which is currently holding the 2022 event, would again serve as the main facility for the tournament. Arena Riga, unfortunately, was held mostly empty at the 2021 event due to COVID-19 restrictions, something that hopefully wouldn’t be necessary this time around.

The IIHF also explained that the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation could not receive the governmental guarantees that were required to potentially host the event at the MVM Dome in Budapest, forcing the application to be withdrawn.

The decision is expected on Friday, when the IIHF council will also award the 2026 event–likely Switzerland, who is currently the only applicant. The 2024 event is set for Czechia, and in 2025 it will head to Sweden and Denmark.

Quarter-final matches for this year’s event will start on Thursday.

David Pastrnak Joins World Championship

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After being eliminated in a heartbreaking game seven over the weekend, David Pastrnak’s season of hockey isn’t quite over. The Boston Bruins forward will join the Czech national team at the IIHF World Championship on Wednesday, in time for them to play their fourth group stage game on Thursday.

Given the yearly success of the Bruins in the postseason, it has been quite a few years since Pastrnak has represented Czechia but he has been quite committed to them throughout his career. In 2018, after scoring 20 points in 12 postseason games with the Bruins, he still managed to join the World Championship team for another handful of games. He’s represented his country at several other tournaments, including the 2016 World Cup and three World Juniors.

Interestingly enough, Pastrnak is another example of this wave of NHL superstars that have never received a chance to play in the Olympics. That is despite being selected for the 2022 team, before the league decided to pull out of the event at the last minute. Pastrnak, Ondrej Palat, and Jakub Voracek were the three players that Czechia had named to the club ahead of time.

Given their schedule, he’ll be arriving just in time. The Czechs finish off the group stage with very important games against the U.S. and Finland, which could determine their fate in the event.

Two Washington Capitals Defensemen Head To World Championship

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A pair of Washington Capitals defensemen are heading to Helsinki and Tampere, Finland, to participate in the 2022 IIHF World Championship. Youngster Martin Fehervary is joining Team Slovakia in Group A in Helsinki, while Michal Kempny will head to Team Czechia in Group B in Tampere.

Fehervary immediately becomes the only Slovak defenseman affiliated with an NHL team. While the team does also have projected 2022 top-five draft choice Simon Nemec, the team’s blue line is largely constructed of players from the Czech and Slovak Extraligas. Slovakia is off to a 1-1 start after defeating France 4-2 and losing to Germany 2-1. Their next game is tomorrow against the Canadians, a tough test for this squad.

The 22-year-old, who Washington selected 46th overall in 2018, forced his way into a full-time NHL role this season for the first time. Playing in 79 games, Fehervary worked his way up to the team’s top pairing alongside John Carlson, showing he could play against top competition. While neither his point totals (eight goals, nine assists, 17 points) nor his defensive metrics were particularly impressive, he did log some penalty-killing minutes as well and showed vast potential for improvement. The two-way defender will look at this tournament as a chance to continue his development on the international stage.

Kempny, now 31, got into only 15 games with the Capitals this season after missing all of 2020-21 with an injury to his Achilles tendon. He never found his way back into the lineup full-time, garnering a goal and assist in those 15 games, and spent 24 games with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. He will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He’ll join a Czech defense core highlighted by NHLers Filip Hronek, Radim Simek, and another projected top pick in 2022 in David Jiricek. Like the Slovaks, the Czechs have also split their opening games at the tournament, defeating Great Britain 5-1 before losing to Sweden 5-3.

Three Minnesota Wild Join United States At World Championships

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The Minnesota Wild announced today that forwards Matt Boldy, Ryan Hartman, and defenseman Jonathon Merrill have been added to Team USA’s IIHF World Championship roster.

Boldy and Hartman will both help solidify a forward core that was seriously lacking in talent. The team still got away with a 4-1 win against Latvia to open the tournament, largely in part due to the stellar play of San Jose Sharks prospect Strauss Mann in the net.

After a disappointing end to the Wild’s season, losing in six games in the First Round to the St. Louis Blues, Boldy, Hartman, and Merrill will get the chance for success on the international stage. Boldy earned a mid-season callup to the Wild this season and never looked back, tallying 15 goals, 24 assists, and 39 points in his first 47 NHL contests. Undoubtedly a top-six fixture in Minnesota for years to come, the 2019 12th overall pick joins the United States as their most skilled winger.

Hartman enjoyed a career year between wingers Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, smashing his previous career-high of 19 goals and 31 points with a 34-goal, 65-point season. He also had a respectable five assists in six playoff games.

Merrill also set a career-high in points this season with 20. The 30-year-old defenseman found a much more solid role in the Wild lineup after failing to make much of an impact with either the Detroit Red Wings or Montreal Canadiens last season.

The US is looking to capture their first gold medal at the tournament since 1960.

Mikael Granlund Joins Finland At World Championships

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The Finnish contingent at the 2022 IIHF World Championships just got notably stronger. The IIHF announced today that Finland added Nashville Predators forward Mikael Granlund to their roster.

The news comes after Granlund’s Predators were swept out of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche. Granlund had three assists in four playoff games, capping off what was a great 2021-22 campaign for him with 64 points in 80 regular-season games.

It’s Granlund’s first time representing Finland at this tournament since 2018 when he was a member of the Minnesota Wild. That year, he served as Finland’s captain, potting two goals and seven assists in eight games as the team lost in the quarterfinals.

This time around, he’ll serve as an alternate captain alongside former NHL defenseman Sami Vatanen and national team veteran Marko Anttila. They sit behind captain Valtteri Filppula as the NHL veteran attempts to join the Triple Gold club with a gold medal in this tournament. Finland got off to a 1-0 start yesterday, defeating Norway 5-0 in their opening game of the Worlds.

Snapshots: Switzerland, Trouba, Lindholm

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The IIHF World Championship will start tomorrow and there are NHL players littered across all of the rosters. One of the most interesting rosters is the one that Switzerland has managed to put together, with names like Timo Meier and Nico Hischier leading the way. Unfortunately for the Swiss, they’ll be without their best option despite him already being eliminated from the NHL playoffs. Roman Josi has turned down the invitation, citing his pregnant wife whom he will be staying with for the next little while.

Josi’s 96-point year was the best season of all time from a Swiss-born player, though Kevin Fiala and Meier both would have also set that record this season had the others not existed (with Hischier not far behind). Fiala is obviously also not on the roster as he continues to battle for the Minnesota Wild, but the success of these players only suggests that Swiss hockey will continue to grow and make an even bigger impact on the NHL in the coming years.

  • There is no supplementary discipline expected for New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba’s hit on Sidney Crosby last night, according to several reports including Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Crosby is being evaluated for an upper-body injury after missing the second half of the game, while Trouba will try to help even the series tomorrow night in Pittsburgh after scoring and recording two points yesterday.
  • Speaking of defensemen trying to help even a series, Hampus Lindholm will return for the Boston Bruins in game six tonight after missing the last few with an upper-body injury. Lindholm was injured on a hit from Andrei Svechnikov and held out, but told reporters today that he started to feel better quickly afterward and is now ready to go. The trade deadline acquisition is expected to return to the top pairing with Charlie McAvoy and play a ton as the Bruins fight for their season.

Morning Notes: Team Canada, Crosby, Bokk

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The Canadian contingent for the IIHF World Championship has named their leadership group, with Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot given the captaincy. The team will go with a group of alternates including Josh Anderson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Adam Lowry, and Damon Severson for the event, likely rotating each game.

The tournament, which starts tomorrow, is a nice way for Chabot to get some more on-ice reps after missing a huge chunk of this season, though with the amount he plays it has already been a long year. In 59 games this season, the Senators’ defenseman scored 38 points and averaged more than 26 minutes a night for the third season in a row.

  • There’s no update yet on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, as head coach Mike Sullivan only confirmed that his captain is dealing with an upper-body injury and will be evaluated further on their return home. Crosby took a hit from Jacob Trouba in last night’s game that kept him out, and obviously has a long history with head injuries. The Penguins stayed in New York after last night’s loss and will fly to Pittsburgh today to prepare for tomorrow’s game six.
  • After spending half of this season playing back home in Germany, Dominik Bokk is coming back to North America. His club team announced today that Bokk will re-join the Carolina Hurricanes organization for the 2022-23 season, a previously agreed upon decision. After playing 32 games in the AHL this year, Bokk was loaned to Eisbaren Berlin in the DEL for the stretch run, where he scored 11 points in 14 games and another three in 12 playoff contests. The first-round pick originally selected by St. Louis in 2018 has one year left on his entry-level deal.

Hockey Canada Announces 2022 IIHF World Championship Roster

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The roster is set, with just a few days to go before things kick off for Hockey Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Championship. The defending gold medalists will be icing a rather youthful roster this season, highlighted by some of the league’s up-and-coming stars, along with some established top-end youngsters.

The full roster will be:

G Chris Driedger
G Logan Thompson
G Matt Tomkins

D Thomas Chabot
D Ryan Graves
D Nick Holden
D Dysin Mayo
D Travis Sanheim
D Damon Severson
D Zach Whitecloud

F Josh Anderson
F Mathew Barzal
F Drake Batherson
F Max Comtois
F Dylan Cozens
F Pierre-Luc Dubois
F Morgan Geekie
F Noah Gregor
F Kent Johnson
F Adam Lowry
F Dawson Mercer
F Eric O’Dell
F Nicolas Roy
F Cole Sillinger

For a player like Mayo, this selection truly solidifies the hard work he has put in over years of grinding in the minor leagues. The fifth-round pick spent parts of seven seasons in the AHL before arriving this year with the Arizona Coyotes and becoming one of the team’s most reliable options. Now 25, he’ll be suiting up for his country for the first time at a major international tournament.

Meanwhile, someone like Cozens is taking the next step in representing his country, after last captaining Team Canada at the 2021 World Juniors (where he scored an incredible 16 points in seven games). The Buffalo Sabres forward had 38 points in his first full-length NHL season and has huge upside as a potential franchise cornerstone. The same could be said for players like Johnson and Sillinger, two names that will likely drive the offense for years to come in Columbus.

Perhaps the most interesting name in the group is Dubois, given the Winnipeg Jets center doesn’t have a contract for next season. Pending restricted free agents, especially ones as important as Dubois, usually skip the tournament because of insurance issues and the risk of injury. Instead, he’ll head overseas to play in a tournament he’s already attended twice previously, despite still just being 23 years old.

Mathew Barzal To Play At World Championship

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The New York Islanders don’t have any playoff games to suit up for this year, so one of their young stars will get a chance to represent his country for the first time in a while. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Mathew Barzal will suit up for Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championship, held later this month in Finland.

Barzal, 24, participated in the event in 2018 after his outstanding rookie season, and actually had seven assists for Canada in ten games. Before that, he’d taken up medals at both the U20 and U18 World Juniors, but neither one was gold. Barzal has only reached that level at the Hlinka-Gretzky, quite a few years ago now.

One of the most enigmatic players in the league, there’s no doubt that Barzal’s skill level is among the best in the world. But the results have been middling after that 85-point rookie season, which earned him the Calder Trophy. He hasn’t hit 20 goals in the four years since, and had just 59 points in 73 games this season for an Islanders team that struggled right from the beginning of the season.

While he still is an obvious leader on the team, Barzal’s name is starting to come up a bit because of his contract situation. Signed only through next season and a restricted free agent for the final time in the summer of 2023, the Islanders could sign him to a long-term extension as soon as this summer. His performance at these Worlds won’t change things one way or the other, but decision time is coming for Lou Lamoriello and the rest of the front office at some point.

Canada will likely release the full roster in the coming days, as the tournament kicks off just a week from now. They’ll take on Germany on May 13.

Halifax, Moncton To Host 2023 World Juniors

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After the 2023 IIHF World Junior tournament was stripped from Russia last month, a new host nation and city needed to be found quickly. The destination has been decided, as Hockey Canada officially announced today that Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick will hold the event next winter.

The tournament, which opens on December 26 every year, is one of the premier events for junior-aged prospects and draft-eligible players to showcase their skills to the world, helping impress NHL front offices and gain hockey fans from various markets. It was last held in Halifax in 2003, and hasn’t been in Atlantic Canada since.

Scott Smith, president of Hockey Canada, released the following statement:

Hosting the World Juniors twice in less than six months is a unique opportunity for our organization and Canadian hockey fans, and with the IIHF’s need to find a host, we were in the position to entertain bids from passionate hockey communities across the country. We appreciate the hard work and efforts put forth by the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and we strongly believe in the plans they have in place to host a successful event in Halifax and Moncton. We know the work of the host committees and volunteers will leave a lasting impression on each community, the competing teams and the fans who will travel to experience this best-on-best competition.

The 2022 event will be held in Edmonton this summer after the previous tournament was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak. That event will still allow players born in 2002 to participate, even if they have already turned 20 in the months that have passed since the original tournament was set to take place.

Many fans will remember the last time the event was in Halifax, though many Canadians will grimace with the thought. The Canadian squad lost in the finals to an Alex Ovechkin-led Russia despite the best efforts of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who was named tournament MVP.

Twenty years later, the tournament returns to the east coast, and Canada is likely to be led by their own young goal-scoring phenom in Connor Bedard. The 16-year-old is already a lock to make the 2022 squad (again) and could very well be stitching a letter onto his sweater by the time the 2023 tournament rolls around.

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