2024 IIHF World Championship Roundup: Standouts from final day of preliminary round

May 21, 2024

And that’s everything for the round-robin portion of the 2024 World Championship in Czechia.

Canada, Czechia, USA, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland are the eight teams moving on to Thursday’s quarterfinal, with four teams moving on for the start of the medal round of the tournament on Saturday.

Czechia got a big boost in the lineup on Tuesday, officially adding David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha for their first game since getting eliminated by the Florida Panthers last week. But despite that, it was a tight game between the Czechs and Canada in the battle for first in Group A, with Canada winning 4-3 in an overtime thriller.

The Americans nearly found themselves collapsed with Latvia’s third-period push. But USA would hold on for the 6-3 victory over the Latvians to keep their momentum running. Germany, meanwhile, trailed for a large portion of their game against France before winning the physical bout 6-3.

If you’re a Finnish fan, you owe Great Britain a beer. GB’s 4-2 win over Austria cemented a Finnish quarterfinal berth, with the Brits winning their only game of the tournament after already finding out they were getting relegated back to Division IA for 2025.

That took the pressure off the Finns, who could then focus on building momentum against Switzerland. Unfortunately, it marked one of their worst games yet, losing 3-1 to Switzerland while generating very few scoring chances.

Here’s a look at the four matchups, and a breakdown of the top players of the day:

Canada vs. Slovakia
Switzerland vs. Germany
USA vs. Czechia
Sweden vs. Finland

USA

#22 Cole Caufield, RW (Montreal Canadiens): Caufield was the man of the hour today, , scoring twice and adding two assists for a wild four-point night. Caufield has spent much of his time in front of the net as a bumper guy, which I feel like isn’t the best utilization for someone who loves to shoot. But it seemed to work today as he has started to really grow into that role on the power play. Regardless, the chemistry between him, Tkachuk and Pinto has been fun to watch.

#57 Shane Pinto, C (Ottawa Senators): Pinto has been the glue that has helped USA’s second line find as much success as they’ve had. He had a hand in making the first goal happen, even though it didn’t result in a point. He did, however, nab a helper on the 2-0 goal after winning a battle along the boards and getting the puck to Cole Caufield, who then found Zach Werenski in front. Pinto isn’t the flashiest guy out there but he’s been as good of a support player as anyone.

#12 Matt Boldy, RW (Minnesota Wild): After six points against Kazakhstan, Boldy scored a goal and added an assist in yet another spectacular showing for USA’s top forward. he did without his forward partners, Brock Nelson and Johnny Gadureau, ending up on the scoresheet. Boldy is capable of making plays happen on his own, but he also assisted on Caufield’s power-play goal two minutes into the second. He leads everyone with 14 points in seven games, and if the Americans go the distance, Boldy could be just the third player since 2000 to hit the 20-point mark behind Dany Heatley (20 in 2008) and Patrick Kane (20 in 2018).

#8 Zach Werenski, D (Columbus Blue Jackets): Werenski scored a goal and an assist, helped lead the power play and played the most effective defensive game of anyone. He loves keeping opponents to the outside, but if they get in close, he uses his stick to take his opponents out of position. Werenski has been one of the best defenders at this tournament.

Latvia

#50 Kristers Gudlevskis, G: He allowed five goals, sure, but he assisted on one and generally played a decent game. He faced a ton of shots on the power play, but he was also just outmatched in a game Latvia just couldn’t seem to find sustained pressure in. Gudlevskis needed more support in a must-win game, no question about it. He didn’t get it, but he kept his team in it midway through to give them a fighting chance in the third.

#55 Roberts Mamcics, D: Named best player today, he scored the 4-3 goal to build on their late-game momentum. It wasn’t enough, but I also thought he was good at doing his actual job, too – playing defense. He’s not the fastest player out there but he takes up space and loves using his stick to push players to the perimeter.

Canada

#22 Dylan Cozens, C (Buffalo Sabres): Cozens wants the MVP title, that’s for sure. After opening the scoring on the power play to keep his goal streak at six games, he took the puck from his own zone to win the game in overtime. Cozens also helped win the battle that resulted in Dawson Mercer’s 2-1 goal with under 10 minutes to go, although he wasn’t credited with an assist. But, seriously: Cozens has been clutch.

#91 John Tavares, C (Toronto Maple Leafs): Not only did Tavares make the play that turned into Brandon Hagel’s goal, but he also was a monster in the faceoff dot at 68.42. He just sees the ice as well as anyone in this tournament, and his ability to outsmart defenders has been shown quite often. I love his play with Hagel.

#38 Brandon Hagel, RW (Tampa Bay Lightning): Speaking of Hagel, does anyone want the puck on his stick more than him? He’s a bulldog out there, just fighting for every inch of space. It helped him score a goal today, but it started because he made a good defensive play just seconds earlier.

#20 Nick Paul, C (Tampa Bay Lightning): Paul’s ability to win faceoffs and screen goalies came in handy today. He went 8-4 in the dot and he assisted on the 1-0 goal, winning the draw before screening Lukas Dostal. Paul has been a sneaky good player for Canada this year, just doing enough small things right.

Czechia

#10 Roman Cervenka, C: Cervenka scored a goal and an assist to help spark the comeback effort. Before any of the NHLers joined, Cervenka looked like the best player, as he has been quite often at an event like this. It’s only a matter of time until he gets his chemistry back with Pastrnak, but that better start with the quarterfinal

#98 Martin Necas, RW (Carolina Hurricanes): Necas had two assists, mainly helping out as the set-up guy on the power play. From the moment he joined the team until now, Necas has been one of Czechia’s best players while playing with an immense amount of confidence. It’s unclear whether if he’ll return to Carolina or not next year but he seems to be embracing playing in this event on home ice.

#7 David Spacek, D: Spacek posted a multi-point night with two helpers, showing why he’s often given goal-scorers to play with. He’s an intelligent puck mover who knows how to get it where it needs to be; sometimes, that means just firing away and banking on a rebound.

Sweden

#65 Erik Karlsson, D (Pittsburgh Penguins): Karlsson can be frustrating to watch with the puck at times because you know what he’s capable of, but sometimes he overthinks plays and throws it away. Today, he had a goal and an assist in what’s been a couple of great games for the Norris Trophy winner.

#95 Andre Burakovsky, C (Seattle Kraken): Burakovsky unleashed a hard shot from in close to help give the Swedes its cozy lead. I’ve liked his tournament, for a few reasons: he can really fire a shot, doesn’t lack effort and is willing to surrender the puck if he feels it’s the right play. Burakovsky has been solid.

#14 Joel Eriksson-Ek, C (Minnesota Wild): JEEK scored two goals to close out the game, making sure the 6-1 win was really safe. He also just won most of his matchups all day with pure skill. He’s fun to watch.

#23 Lucas Raymond, LW (Detroit Red Wings): Raymond had a goal and an assist, helping the Swedes get out to an early lead. Raymond hasn’t ripped apart the tournament like some wondered if he would, but he’s been dynamite on the power play and just seems to be in the right spot in the right time often.

Slovakia

#90 Tomas Tatar, LW (Seattle Kraken): There weren’t a lot of positives in that game, but the Kraken winger helped set up the 5-1 goal. He also made some great defensive plays and was the chippiest forward on the team.

Switzerland

#21 Kevin Fiala, LW (Los Angeles Kings): Fiala had a goal and an assist in yet another high-end game for the winger. With him playing the way he is, especially on the power play, Switzerland looks mighty dangerous heading into the playoffs. He just knows how to pick angles and can be deceptive with his head movements.

#43 Andrea Glauser, D: Roman Josi has been Switzerland’s free-range, puck-moving defenseman. So to see his partner, Glauser, blast home a shot to make it 2-1 was refreshing. It was just the second goal the 28-year-old has managed to score during his career at the WC, and his first point of the tournament due to not taking part in the PP when Josi does most of his damage. That was nice to see.

Finland

#29 Harri Sateri, G: The Finns only had 10 shots in the first 40 minutes, so Sateri needed to be sharp to keep his slow-moving team involved. He started the third with a couple of nice pad saves and kept his team in it. Sateri is a good keeper who needs to step up big come playoff time given how low-scoring his team has been at points.

Germany

#19 Wojciech Stachowiak, C: Stachowiak had two goals, three points and seven shots in a dominant effort for Germany’s top center. He had two excellent wingers in Peterka and Reichel to lean on, but there’s a reason why he plays with them – he’s fast, skilled and good around the net. He’s been on an absolute roll at this tournament.

#73 Lukas Reichel, LW (Chicago Blackhawks): With a goal and an assist, Reichel has set a personal record with seven points at this tournament – his third event in four years. Not only did he produce, but he also helped bring energy to a buzzy game for the Blackhawks winger. After a difficult NHL season, hopefully this helps him build momentum.

#78 Nico Sturm, C (San Jose Sharks): Sturm was a catalyst for a goal that was called back due to a crease violation, but you can tell it sparked a fire in him. He assisted Reichel’s 6-3 power-play goal to close things out, with his net-front presence proving to be an issue for the French defenders in front.

#65 Marc Michaelis, C: Michaelis scored the 1-1 goal late in the first period to give Germany some life and then set up Maximilian Kastner’s 4-3 goal to give them their first lead of the game. He was one of the players that seemed to bring the energy and the momentum when they found themselves trailing in the first and that’s important when you can get scoring beyond the top line.

France

#77 Sacha Treille, LW: For a 36-year-old with nearly 90 games of World Championship experience, Treille was showing the youngsters how to do it today. He used his speed to break free of Germany’s defense and scored the 2-1 goal on the breakaway, giving his team some life. He just works so hard out

#94 Tim Bozon, C: Bozon just battled hard all game long, and it was his great backhand, airborne pass that went flying through the air to Treille for the breakaway goal. From an overall standpoint, I thought Bozon played in one of his best tournaments given how involved he was in the team’s two-way game. He just battled his tail off and you need that in games where scoring is hard to come by.

Austria

#30 David Kickert, G: There wasn’t too much Kickert could do in the end, given Austria’s offense just wasn’t there today. But he did make some big stops, including a massive glove save while laying sprawled out on the ice. At the very least, Kickert helped assert himself as Austria’s top goaltender going forward after having a handful of great showings for Austria. It wasn’t his fault the team fell apart, that’s for sure.

#16 Dominic Zwerger, LW: A two-assist game for Zwereger helped him cap off an impressive eight-point tournament, serving as Austria’s best playmaking forward. It comes after an injury-shortened campaign with HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland, where he managed to play some of his best hockey of his career. Zwerger was almost always one of Austria’s best players and a big part of that comeback effort against Canada.

Great Britain

#33 Ben Bowns, G: The Brits knew what was on the line today. Even though it didn’t matter for anything beyond just pride, going out with a bang against a team fighting for a playoff spot would be good for the team’s morale. Bowns stood up for the challenge, and while he wasn’t as busy as he was against some of the higher-powered teams, goaltending helped turn the tide for them today.

#28 Ben O’Connor, D: O’Connor had a goal and an assist for the Brits today, scoring the 1-1 goal on the two-man advantage in the second period before helping to set up Perlini on the power 2-1 goal. His shot from the point was powerful, and even when he misses the net, he often puts the puck in a spot for a teammate to pick up the rebound and get a chance on net. He’s a smart defenseman who does a lot of things well for GB.

#75 Robert Dowd, RW: Dowd had a goal and an assist, capping off a tournament that saw him improve as the tournament wore on. Usually one of GB’s better forwards, he struggled to generate much with the puck – until today.

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