ZÜRICH, Switzerland – Canada's National Men's Team finished fourth at the 2026 IIHF World Championship after falling 3-2 to Norway in overtime in the bronze medal game at Swiss Life Arena on Sunday.

Norway opened the scoring 6:44 into the game and increased its lead to 2-0 in the second period before Robert Thomas (Aurora, ON/St. Louis, NHL) got Canada on the board with 76 seconds to play in the third and tied the game with eight seconds left to force overtime, but the Norwegians found the back of the net 3:32 into the extra frame.

“It took too long to get to our game today. We got to it in stretches towards the end of the second and in the third period, but it was not a complete 60-minute effort for our group. I give [Norway] a lot of credit because they played with a lot of pride and commitment,” said head coach Misha Donksov (London, ON). “Our team had a lot of great people, outstanding leadership and world-class hockey players. I was very fortunate to work with three incredible NHL head coaches at this tournament, and our entire group made a lot of great memories, but unfortunately it was not the way we wanted it to end.”

Jet Greaves (Cambridge, ON/Columbus, NHL) made 21 saves, including multiple stops in the third period to keep the game at 2-0, and finished the tournament with a .919 save percentage and 1.88 goals-against average.

A full game summary can be found at HockeyCanada.ca.

Captain Macklin Celebrini (North Vancouver, BC/San Jose, NHL), who assisted on Thomas’ game-tying goal, finished as Canada’s leading scorer with 14 points (6-8—14), and ranked second in tournament scoring before the gold medal game.

“[Norway] played a great game, and they came out hard just like we thought they were going to. When you look back on the tournament, I feel like we had a little more to give, and it is unfortunate the way that it ended,” Celebrini said. “We were never going to give up, and we were going to try to find a way to get a goal as the game went on. I have to give credit to our group for the way we battled late in the game, but it is tough that we could not get the result we wanted.” 

Canada finished the preliminary round in first place in Group B after earning wins over Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, Slovakia and Czechia. It booked a spot in the semifinals with a 4-0 win over the United States before falling to Finland 4-2 on Saturday.

Since 1931, Canada has collected 28 gold medals at the IIHF World Championship, to go along with 16 silver and seven bronze.

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Canada’s National Men’s Team will battle Norway for the second time this tournament with the bronze medal on the line at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Zurich.

Last Game

Canada suffered its first loss in Switzerland on Saturday, falling 4-2 to Finland in the semifinals. Robert Thomas scored his first goal of the tournament and Dylan Holloway was named player of the game with a goal and an assist. Jet Greaves made 17 saves.

Earlier on Saturday, Norway fell 6-0 to host Switzerland. Two of the goals against Norway came on the power play, and Henrik Haukeland made 24 saves.

Last Meeting

It was a back-and-forth battle in this year’s preliminary round, but Canada edged Norway 6-5 in overtime on May 21. Mark Scheifele scored twice to make it 2-2 after the first period before Gabriel Vilardi’s power-play goal tied the game again with 40 minutes complete. Dylan Cozens scored short-handed to open the third period and Ryan O’Reilly’s goal sent the game to overtime. Scheifele completed his hat trick 29 seconds into the extra frame to earn Canada’s fourth victory.

What to Watch

Canada’s second line was buzzing against Finland. Holloway, Thomas and Scheifele generated 24 per cent of Canada’s shots on net against Finland (seven of 29), with both Holloway and Thomas finding the back of the net. Scheifele’s best game of the tournament came against Norway with his hat trick and the overtime winner. With Evan Bouchard’s injury in the quarterfinals, Sam Dickinson made his first appearance at the IIHF World Championship against Finland. The San Jose Sharks defenceman logged 12:19 of ice time and generated three shots.

Only 12 teams have won a medal at the IIHF World Championship—and Norway is not a part of that exclusive group. In fact, their best finish at Men’s Worlds is fourth place way back in 1951. A big part of why Norway has made it to this point of the tournament is their goaltender, Henrik Haukeland. In seven games, he has a 1.71 goals-against average, a 0.933 save percentage, three shutouts and even an assist. He’s also the netminder that took Canada to overtime earlier in the tournament with 36 saves. One of two 18-year-olds on Norway’s squad, Tinus Luc Koblar leads his team with six goals and nine points.

A Look Back

The Canadians and Norwegians have been frequent opponents in the 2000s, clashing 17 times since the turn of the millennium after meeting just 10 times in the 50 years before that.

This is the first time Canada and Norway will meet in a medal-round matchup. When Norway earned its best result at Men’s Worlds back in 1951, it faced Canada in the round-robin. The Canadians, represented by the Lethbridge Maple Leafs, shut out Norway 8-0 on its way to a gold medal.

All-time record: Canada leads 25-2-0 (1-1 in OT)
Canada goals: 167
Norway goals: 35

It’s Semifinal Saturday as Canada’s National Men’s Team faces Finland for a spot in the gold medal game at the 2026 IIHF World Championship at Swiss Life Arena.

Last Game

Canada shut out the United States 4-0 on Thursday to advance to the semifinals. Jet Greaves was fantastic in net, making 34 saves in the crease. Macklin Celebrini and Dylan Holloway scored, with Connor Brown and Sidney Crosby adding empty-net goals late in regulation. Mark Scheifele had two assists in the quarterfinal win.

Finland earned its spot in the semifinals with a 4-1 win over Czechia on Thursday. Sakari Manninen and Anton Lundell gave Finland the lead in the first period before Konsta Helenius scored 1:35 into the second period to make it a 3-0 game. Lenni Hameenaho rounded out the scoring in the final frame and Justus Annunen made 25 saves.

Last Meeting

Last year, Canada suffered its first loss of the tournament to Finland: a 2-1 shootout decision in the preliminary round. Ryan O’Reilly opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal in the second period, but Patrick Puistola tied the game in the third to force extra time. Kent Johnson scored in the shootout, but Finland scored twice on Marc-André Fleury, who made 20 saves in regulation and overtime.

What to Watch

We certainly need to shoutout Greaves, who recorded his first international shutout on Thursday. The Columbus Blue Jackets netminder has had a strong showing in his first tournament wearing the Maple Leaf. In six appearances, the 25-year-old has a 1.33 goals-against average and a 0.948 save percentage to place him fourth in the tournament’s goaltending leaders. And we’d be remised if we didn’t mention Celebrini and Crosby—the duo has combined for almost 23 per cent of Canada’s points at Men’s Worlds (22 of 97), with Celebrini remaining second in tournament scoring with six goals and 12 points and Crosby recording his first goal of the tournament on Thursday to go with his nine assists.

Finland’s only loss in this tournament was in its final preliminary-round game, falling 4-2 to host Switzerland. The Finns enter the semifinals with strong special teams, going 8-for-25 on the power play and only allowing three goals on 20 penalty kills. There are a lot of familiar names on the Finnish team—13 players are active in the NHL, including captain Aleksander Barkov. The Florida Panthers centre missed the entire 2025-26 NHL season with a torn ACL and MCL, but received medical clearance in April and opted to play at Men’s Worlds. He has two goals and seven assists heading into the semifinals, which is second to Jesse Puljujarvi on Finland, who leads the team with four goals and five assists.

A Look Back

The Canadians and Finns have certainly been familiar foes at Men’s Worlds. In fact, only Sweden (71 GP) has been a more frequent opponent for Canada than Finland, with the teams set to meet for a 57th time in Zurich.

Canada has a 2-1-1 record when playing Finland in Switzerland in this tournament: an 11-1 win in 1961, a 6-5 win in 1990, a 3-3 tie in 1998, and most recently a 4-3 loss in 2009. These two teams have also met six times in the gold medal game (1994, 2007, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2022), with the Canadians holding a 4-2 record in those medal matchups.

All-time record: Canada leads 39-15-2 (3-4 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 286
Finland goals: 127

The rivalry is renewed on Thursday as Canada’s National Men’s Team takes on the United States in the quarterfinals of the 2026 IIHF World Championship at BCF Arena.

Last Game

Canada had a come-from-behind win on Tuesday, edging Czechia 3-2 to earn a perfect preliminary-round record. After falling behind 2-0 midway through the second period, Sidney Crosby set up Macklin Celebrini twice to tie the game. John Tavares notched the game-winning goal midway through the final frame and Jet Greaves made 17 saves for his fifth win of the tournament.

It was win-or-go-home for the United States in its final preliminary game, and the Americans sealed its spot in the quarterfinals with a 4-1 win over Austria. Connor Clifton and Ryan Ufko gave the U.S. an early 2-0 lead in the first period. Paul Cotter and Matthew Tkachuk doubled the lead in the middle frame, with Devin Cooley making 24 saves for the Americans.

Last Meeting

Although these two teams last met in the gold medal game at the Olympics back in February, the last time Canada and the United States faced off at Men’s Worlds was in 2021, with the Canadians earning a 4-2 win in the semifinals. Brandon Pirri opened the scoring just over two minutes into the game, and Andrew Mangiapane scored twice to give Canada a 3-1 lead. Justin Danforth scored an empty-net goal to seal the victory for Canada and Darcy Kuemper made 36 saves.

What to Watch

Who else but our favourite duo of Celebrini and Crosby? The on-ice chemistry between these two players began back at Men’s Worlds last year, continued to grow at the Olympics and is in full-force here in Switzerland. Celebrini is second in tournament scoring with five goals, 11 points and a plus-12 over seven games. Crosby tops the tournament with Switzerland’s Sven Andrighetto as assist leaders with nine in the preliminary round. After Tuesday’s game, Celebrini said it’s “awesome the way we are moving the puck in the offensive zone and making plays,” adding that it is “a lot of fun to play with [Crosby].”

The United States finished fourth in Group A with a 3-1-0-3 record. Special teams are key for this American team: they have the top power play of the tournament, scoring seven goals on 20 man-advantage opportunities in the preliminary round. Tommy Novak leads the Americans in scoring with a goal and eight points. Matthew Tkachuk has only played in four games so far in Switzerland, but he has already racked up four goals and seven points. Devin Cooley has emerged as the starting goaltender for the U.S., earning a 1.70 goals-against average and a 0.93 save percentage in five games played.

A Look Back

For as back-and-forth as this rivalry has been between the neighbours at the Olympic Winter Games and IIHF World Junior Championship in recent years, the all-time record at the IIHF World Championship is tilted significantly in favour of the Canadians.

Canada has won 42 of the 48 meetings dating back to 1931, and has lost only two games in regulation time. This marks just the third time the rivals have met in the quarterfinals; Canada downed the U.S. 4-1 in the quarterfinals back in 1995 while the U.S. scored a 4-3 overtime win in 2001.

All-time record: Canada leads 42-7 (U.S. leads 4-1 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 239
United States goals: 98

Canada’s National Men’s Team looks to close out the preliminary round with an undefeated record when it faces Czechia on Tuesday at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.

Last Game

A big third period led Canada to its sixth-straight victory on Sunday with a 5-1 win over Slovakia. Dylan Cozens opened the scoring in the first period. Gabriel Vilardi, John Tavares, Ryan O’Reilly and Macklin Celebrini scored in a span of 7:07 minutes in the final frame. Jet Greaves was named Player of the Game after a fantastic performance in net with 31 saves against the Slovaks.

The Czechs experienced its first regulation loss of the tournament on Monday, falling 4-1 to Norway. Jaroslav Chmelar scored the lone goal for Czechia unassisted in the first period and Dominik Pavlat made 23 saves.

Last Meeting

Let’s throw it back to 2024 when Canada locked up the top spot in Group A with a 4-3 overtime win over Czechia. Cozens opened the scoring 61 seconds into the third period before Dawson Mercer and Brandon Hagel made it a 3-1 lead for Canada. The Czechs scored twice with the extra attacker to send the game to overtime, and Cozens sealed the victory for Canada with a short-handed goal. Jordan Binnington made 19 saves between the pipes.

What to Watch

Cozens has lit the lamp for Canada in three consecutive games, tallying five points (4-1—5) throughout the tournament. This is the third Men’s Worlds for the Whitehorse product, who previously took home silver in 2022 and placed fourth in 2024. The 25-year-old has 20 goals and 29 points through 26 games in his IIHF World Championship career. On the blue line, good things happen when Evan Bouchard is on the ice. He leads Canada with a plus-11 and has a goal and four assists so far in Switzerland.

Czechia is led by 40-year-old captain, Roman Cervenka, who is the only active player to have played in more than 100 games at the IIHF World Championship (it will be his 110 ^th Men’s Worlds game when he plays Canada). He has two goals and four points over six games in Fribourg. Eight players from Czechia’s Olympic roster are playing at Men’s Worlds, including Vancouver Canucks defenceman Filip Hronek. The 28-year-old led the Czechs in Milan with five assists, and he currently has two assists in the preliminary round.

A Look Back

Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the 27 meetings between the Canadians and Czechs have been split almost right down the middle, with Canada holding a narrow 15-12 advantage.

That being said, Canada has won the last nine meetings since 2013, including three semifinal matchups: Mike Smith posted a 23-save shutout in 2015, Mark Stone had a goal and an assist in 2019, and Cozens scored twice and added a helper in 2022.

All-time record: Canada leads 15-12 (2-1 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 85
Czechia goals: 77

It’s the penultimate game of the preliminary round for Canada’s National Men’s Team when it faces Slovakia on Sunday at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.

Last Game

Canada improved to 5-0 on Friday with a 3-1 victory over Slovenia. Emmitt Finnie recorded his first international goal and assist with Team Canada, earning player of the game honours. Dylan Cozens and Denton Mateychuk rounded out the scoring, and Jet Greaves made 13 saves for his third win in Fribourg.

Slovakia fell to Czechia in a close 3-2 game on Saturday for its first loss of the tournament. Marek Hrivik and Martin Chromiak scored for the Slovaks in the second period, and Samuel Hlavaj made 15 saves.

Last Meeting

Canada had a strong showing against Slovakia last year in the preliminary round, shutting out the Slovaks 7-0. Sidney Crosby recorded two goals and two assists, connecting with linemate Macklin Celebrini (1-2—3) twice during the game. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, Brandon Montour and Tyson Foerster rounded out the scoring, and Jordan Binnington made 14 saves in his second start.

What to Watch

His last goal was scored against Italy back on May 16, but captain Celebrini continues to rack up assists and strong offensive scoring chances. The 19-year-old leads Canada with seven points (2-5—7)—making him tied for eighth overall for the tournament’s scoring leaders—and has 20 shot attempts alongside Mark Scheifele through five games. Crosby is close behind Celebrini with six assists so far, and continues to seek his first goal of the tournament.

Calgary Flames fans are well aquainted with Martin Pospisil. The 26-year-old is playing with his older brother, Kristian, in Fribourg. Both brothers have been contributing to Slovakia’s offence—Martin has a goal and four points while Kristian has two goals and an assist. Filip Mesar may sound familiar for World Juniors fans—he recorded four goals and 15 points (4-11—15) over three editions of the tournament. The 22-year-old winger recently completed his second season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, recording nine goals and 27 points. He has a goal and two assists so far at Men’s Worlds.

A Look Back

Canada has won the last seven meetings with Slovakia since 2014, and 15 of the 18 all-time meetings going back to 1996 when Slovakia returned to the Top Division after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Although Canada has an advantage in goal differential, the Slovaks can keep these games close. In 2019, the Canadians edged Slovakia in a thrilling 6-5 win . The game appeared destined for overtime before Mark Stone—celebrating his 27th birthday—recorded the game-winning goal on a power play with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

All-time record: Canada leads 15-2-2 (1-0 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 78
Slovakia goals: 43

Canada’s National Men’s Team is right back to work after Thursday’s overtime win against Norway, facing off against Slovenia on Friday as the preliminary round continues at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.

Last Game

Canada remains undefeated in Fribourg after edging Norway 6-5 in overtime. It was a back-and-forth battle—Mark Scheifele scored twice to make it 2-2 after the first period before Gabriel Vilardi’s power-play goal tied the game again with 40 minutes complete. Dylan Cozens scored short-handed to open the third period and Ryan O’Reilly’s goal sent the game to overtime. Scheifele completed his hat trick 29 seconds into the extra frame to earn Canada’s fourth victory.

Slovenia last played on Wednesday, falling 6-0 to Sweden for its third consecutive loss. Zan Us made 39 saves against the Swedes, and Slovenia had successful kills on two of its three penalties.

Last Meeting

Canada opened last year’s tournament with a 4-0 blanking of Slovenia. Special teams were key—Bo Horvat scored twice on the power play and Noah Dobson added a goal with the man advantage. Nathan MacKinnon recorded a goal and two assists. Dylan Garand made 11 saves for the shutout and Canada put 40 shots on Slovenia’s Lukas Horak.

What to Watch

The line chemistry between Scheifele and Vilardi has certainly carried over from Winnipeg. The Jets duo have a combined five goals and nine points in four games in Fribourg and have been a steady line with Robert Thomas since Canada played Italy on May 16. This is Scheifele’s fourth appearance at Men’s Worlds (2014, 2016, 2017), previously taking home gold (2016) and silver (2017), while Vilardi is suiting up in his second tournament after winning gold in 2021. On the blue line, Evan Bouchard now leads Canada with a plus-eight—he recorded three assists against Norway.

After representing Slovenia at U18 Men’s Worlds and World Juniors, 19-year-old Jan Golicic has his first chance to represent his country at the senior level. The defenceman started the season as the captain of the Gatineau Olympiques before he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He recorded five goals and 44 points in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s regular season, plus a goal and eight points in 17 playoff games. A veteran on Slovenia is 36-year-old defenceman Blaz Gregorc, who will play in his seventh Men’s Worlds. He has two assists so far in Fribourg.

A Look Back

This will be the seventh meeting between Canada and Slovenia at Men’s Worlds, and the Canadians are undefeated through the first six.

The closest game was in 2013—the Slovenians held a 3-2 lead heading into the third period before Brenden Dillon tied the game with 13 minutes left and Steven Stamkos won it 3:36 into overtime for Canada.

All-time record: Canada leads 6-0 (1-0 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 33
Slovenia goals: 8

After two days off, Canada’s National Men’s Team is back on the ice to face Norway in the fourth of seven preliminary-round games at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland.

Last Game

In a rematch of the 2025 quarterfinals on Monday, Canada earned its third win of the tournament with a 5-1 win over Denmark. All six goals were scored in the third period, with Sidney Crosby recording four assists. Porter Martone had a goal and an assist, Macklin Celebrini added two helpers and Jet Greaves made 15 saves.

Norway shut out Italy 4-0 on Tuesday for its second win of the tournament. Henrik Haukeland was excellent in net, making 30 saves, while Eskild Bakke Olsen, Noah Steen, Christian Kaasastul and Tinus Luc Koblar scored for the Norwegians.

Last Meeting

It’s been two years since these teams met in the preliminary round—Canada defeated Norway 4-1 at the 2024 Men’s Worlds in Czechia. Brandon Tanev opened the scoring in the first period, Andrew Mangiapane doubled the lead in the middle frame and Dylan Cozens scored shorthanded in the third period. Nico Daws made five saves and assisted on Jared McCann’s empty-net goal.

What to Watch

What else can we say about Sidney Crosby? This is the fourth time the Pittsburgh Penguins captain has represented his country in 16 months (4 Nations Face-Off, 2025 Men’s Worlds, 2026 Olympics, 2026 Men’s Worlds) and he continues to make an impact on the ice. Crosby has five assists so far in Fribourg and he is five points away from recording his 100th point wearing the Maple Leaf (39-56—95). On the blue line, Penguins defenceman Parker Wortherspoon recorded his first goal in Monday’s game against Denmark, and he also leads Canada with a plus-seven over three games.

Norway has a good balance of veteran experience and youth talent on its team. The oldest member of the team is 35-year-old forward Andreas Martinsen, who is suiting up in his 14th Men’s Worlds, while goaltender Haukeland is making his eighth tournament appearance. There are two 18-year-olds on Norway’s roster: Mikkel Eriksen and Koblar, who has two goals and an assists in three games. The Norwegians lead the tournament in save percentage, allowing only two goals so far, and they have yet to give up a goal on the man-advantage.

A Look Back

The Canadians and Norwegians have been frequent opponents in the 2000s, clashing 16 times since the turn of the millennium after meeting just 10 times in the 50 years before that.

Canada’s biggest win came in 1962 when the Galt Terriers handed Norway a 14-1 defeat. More recently, John Tavares had a hat trick and Jordan Eberle added a goal and three assists as Canada eased to a 12-1 victory in Mannheim, Germany.

All-time record: Canada leads 24-2-0
Canada goals: 161
Norway goals: 30

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.

Last Game

Canada earned its second win in as many days with a 6-0 win over of Italy on Saturday. Captain Macklin Celebrini led with two goals and an assist, Dylan Holloway and Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and an assist each, and Cam Talbot made 19 saves to record his fifth shutout in nine Men’s Worlds 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 blue line: 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 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

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.

Last Game

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 in 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