logo
Starting Goalies
Line Combination
Five NHLers who boosted Olympic stock at 2025 IIHF World Championship
Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis(sellishockey)
May 26, 2025
Tage Thompson USA

The 2025 IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship completed its 64th and final game on Sunday, with the United States taking home gold for the first time in 92 years.

As always, it was an unpredictable tournament, with one major highlight including Denmark’s shocking 2-1 win over Canada in the quarterfinal. The Danes had just one full-time NHLer – Nikolaj Ehlers – while Canada’s roster included names like Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini,

Sometimes, heart wins over talent. And that’s the beauty of this tournament.

But this tournament also had another special purpose – teams were using it as prep for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics. It’ll be the first best-on-best competition with more than four teams since the 2016 World Cup. That’s why we saw high-quality names spread out across the tournament, and some of the European teams iced as close to the final roster as we’ll see come February.

Some players entered the tournament using this as a tune-up for Italy. But for others, it was a chance to show their federations that they deserve to fly to Milan next year. Here’s a look at five players who boosted their Olympic stock over the past few weeks:

Macklin Celebrini, C/LW, Canada (San Jose Sharks)

Connor Bedard declined to join Team Canada for the 2025 tournament after getting relegated to 13th forward duties in 2024 (a decision many thought was the wrong call by coach André Tourigny). But Celebrini didn’t, and if it came down to deciding between one of the two young stars, Celebrini might have played his way onto the team. A few days ago, we looked at how Celebrini was able to match Sidney Crosby’s hockey IQ, and it allowed for the pair to make some magic for Canada throughout the round robin. At this point, it almost feels like they should stick together in Italy.

Sure, Crosby could play with anyone. There’s a reason he’s special. But Celebrini’s ability to find Crosby with some of the most creative passes you’ll see with some consistency is something you think Hockey Canada noticed and would want to capitalize on. It’s crazy to think that Celebrini went from Canada’s best player at the World Juniors as an underager in 2024 to becoming an absolute force with the men’s team just more than a year later, but Celebrini is a special prospect. He’s got the skill, physicality and two-way acumen that will make him an absolute force in the NHL for the next two decades. And while he might be young, Celebrini would be a great fit for Canada, whether he’s matched with Crosby or not.

Eeli Tolvanen, LW, Finland (Seattle Kraken)

The Finns were lacking a true game-changer on this team. They didn’t have their own Crosby or David Pastrnak. Tolvanen ended up becoming that guy, scoring seven goals and nine points in eight games for the Finns. That included two goals and an assist in the closing stages of a tight game that saw Finland just edge out France. Tolvanen was a proven junior hockey star with Finland and even made the Olympic all-star team in 2018.

Tolvanen was one of the better players left off Finland’s 4 Nations team, as he just wasn’t seen to be as rounded as some of the other options available to them. But Finland struggled to score goals in Montreal and Boston, and they could use someone like Tolvanen who can shoot from anywhere, especially on the power play. His production dipped a bit in Seattle this year, but he still had 23 goals. Given his willingness to be “the guy” with the puck for Finland at the World Championship, you have to think he’ll make the expanded roster in Italy. He almost always performs well for his country, and they’ll really need him to help spark the offense in the middle six, even if he doesn’t play every game.

Leo Carlsson, C, Sweden (Anaheim Ducks)

Carlsson registered a point in nearly every game as he continued to be an important shot generator for the Swedes. He performed better than his numbers would suggest. Even against Latvia, where he didn’t get a shot on net, Carlsson was a good two-way force, focusing on helping out defensively. Carlsson scored twice against Czechia, where he only played 11:01 in a 5-2 victory. Beyond that, though, he never played top-line minutes but proved to be a difficult matchup for teams such as Finland and Latvia.

Carlsson made the 4 Nations team but only skated in one game. Given his point-per-game production throughout the World Championship as more of the team’s No. 2/3 center, it’ll be interesting to see not only if he makes the Olympic team, but what type of role he gets. It’ll likely be a bit deeper in the lineup, but he might be able to thrive as that 13th forward.

Clayton Keller, LW, USA (Utah Mammoth)

You can include Keller’s linemate, Logan Cooley, here, too. They were dynamite together. But Keller always felt like a bubble candidate for the 4 Nations team, and then proceeded to be one of the USA’s best all-around players in Denmark and Sweden. He played at over a point-per-game pace and came up especially big in games against Finland, Germany and Norway – three games that ended up being quite tight at points.

Keller is coming off the best season of his hockey career, registering a career-high 90 points in his first season as captain of the new Utah squad. The 26-year-old is speedy, smart, and an exceptional playmaker. You could do so much worse in a third-liner. At the very least, Keller should have the edge over guys like Chris Kreider, Brock Nelson and Vincent Trocheck due to Keller’s pure versatility and energy.

Tage Thompson, LW, USA (Buffalo Sabres)

Thompson scored the biggest goal for the USA’s men’s national team in nearly a century, scoring the overtime winner against Switzerland. He finished the tournament with six goals and nine points in 10 games while also being USA’s best shot generator. He was willing to hit everyone in sight, and he only got more defensively involved as the tournament wore on.

Thompson was a bit of a surprise to be left off the 4 Nations Face-Off team, given his ability to be a power forward deeper in USA’s lineup. The 6-foot-7 forward can play with anyone, and will rarely be the least effective player on a line at any point. He proved he could be a big-game player for the Americans at this tournament, and USA Hockey will have a tough time keeping him off the Olympic roster unless he has a diasterous start to the regular season.

Other notables: Brandon Montour, D, Canada (Seattle Kraken); Dans Locmelis, C, Latvia (Boston Bruins); Logan Cooley, C, USA (Utah Mammoth); Frank Nazar, C, USA (Chicago Blackhawks)

Recent Articles from Steven Ellis