Avalanche confirm MacKinnon will play for Canada at Worlds
Published
The Colorado Avalanche confirmed Wednesday that Nathan MacKinnon will represent Team Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.
MacKinnon joins a Team Canada roster that is suddenly star-studded with Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury also joining the team in recent days.
Crosby and MacKinnon, who are both from Nova Scotia, were teammates for Canada's dramatic win over the Untied States at the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off in February. They also captured the gold medal together at the 2015 world championship in the Czech Republic.
Crosby scored four goals and seven assists in nine games at the 2015 tournament while MacKinnon had four goals and five assists in 10 games.
The 37-year-old Crosby scored 33 goals and 58 assists over 80 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2024-25, his 20th season with the franchise and third straight without a postseason appearance.
MacKinnon, 29, is just a few days removed from his Avalanche being eliminated by the Dallas Stars in seven games in the opening round of the playoffs. The 12-year veteran and 2013 first overall pick scored 32 goals with 84 assists over 79 games this season, the third straight year he recorded 110 or more points.
Fleury's time at the tournament could prove to be the final competitive action of his career, having already announced his retirement from NHL play after the Minnesota Wild were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Fleury will be joined by Wild teammate Jared Spurgeon on the roster at the worlds.
Canada's roster also features Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim from the 4 Nations Face-Off roster and mix of promising youth including Macklin Celebrini and Adam Fantilli, along with veteran players including Ryan O'Reilly and Bo Horvat.
At last year's tournament in Czechia, Canada finished off the podium for the first time since 2018 after dropping the bronze medal game to Sweden. The host Czechs captured gold. The Canadians last won gold in 2023 and own 28 first-place finishes to lead all nations.
This year's men's worlds will start on Friday with play in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark. Canada will take on Slovenia in their opening game on Saturday at 6am ET/3am PT on TSN.