Marquee matchups headline IIHF World Championship on TSN
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The 2024 IIHF Men's World Championship is here and there's plenty of NHL talent set to take the ice in Czechia for this year's tournament. From May 10-26, international hockey rivalries take centre stage and TSN has you covered with all of the action.
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The 16 teams competing in the tournament have been split into two groups for the preliminary rounds. Canada has been placed in Group A along with Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Norway, and Switzerland, while Group B consists of France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United States.
After seven games in the preliminary rounds, the top four teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, where they will then crossover for the elimination games.
Here is a look at some of the biggest matchups in this year's group play matchups.
Canada opens against Great Britain
After winning their 28th IIHF World Championship gold medal last year, Canada's title defence begins with a matchup against Great Britain on May 11.
Team Canada is headlined by Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard, one of three finalists for the NHL's Calder Trophy. In 68 games played this season, the 18-year-old forward led all rookies with 22 goals and 61 assists despite missing 14 games with a fractured jaw.
GM Rick Nash has been hard at work building his roster in the days leading up to the tournament, adding forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois, Brandon Hagel, and Nick Paul to the roster after their teams were eliminated from the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Great Britain will look to pull off a stunning upset to open their tournament, with former Peterborough Petes forward Liam Kirk leading the charge. Now playing with HC Litvinov of the Czech Extraliga, the 24-year-old forward posted 19 goals and 11 assists in 30 games played in the 2023-2024 campaign.
After being relegated to Division 1 A for the 2023 IIHF World Championship, Great Britain posted a 4-1-0-0 record to win their group and qualify for this year's tournament.
The last time both countries faced off came in 2019 in a dominant 8-0 win for Team Canada.
USA vs. Sweden
Day 1 of the IIHF World Championships starts off with a bang as the United States faces off against Sweden in a matchup between two hockey powerhouses.
The U.S. will be looking to rebound after back-to-back fourth place finishes at the World Championships, highlighted by a heartbreaking overtime loss to Latvia in the 2023 bronze medal game.
Led by young stars Brady Tkachuk, Trevor Zegras, and Luke Hughes, the United States are expected to compete for a medal this year but will face a tough test in Sweden to get their tournament underway.
Team Sweden has no shortage of NHL players themselves, as Victor Hedman, Rasmus Dahlin, and Adrian Kempe gear up to lead Sweden to their first medal at the IIHF World Championships since winning back-to-back golds in 2017-2018.
The most recent matchup between the two came in the preliminary rounds last year, where the United States won 4-3 thanks to an overtime winner from Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg.
Canada vs. Finland
Group A's marquee matchup takes place on May 18 when Canada takes on Finland.
The Finns will look to avenge a 4-1 loss in the quarterfinals at the hands of Team Canada last year.
Olli Maata returns from last year's team, while Mikael Granlund makes his first appearance for Finland since posting five goals and six points en route to a gold medal at the 2022 IHFF World Championship.
Juuka Jalonen will serve as head coach for the 10th time in 15 years at this tournament. The 61-year-old bench boss has led Finland to the gold medal three times since 2009.
The entire 2024 IIHF World Championship schedule can be found here.