2026 IIHF World Championship: Frondell, Leonard highlight top standouts from Day 6
Wednesday’s action at the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship had a bit of everything, from blowouts, to a potential upset and even a game blasting past the 60-minute mark.
Switzerland and Sweden had explosive victories, with Switzerland crushing Austria 9-0 and Sweden beating Slovenia 6-0. Czechia had to survive a potential scare to beat Italy 3-1, scoring three straight to eliminate Italy’s mid-game advantage. USA and Germany, meanwhile, needed a shootout to deterimine the winner, with the Americans managing to come out on top.
Here’s a look at the top performers on Wednesday in Switzerland:
Austria, 0 Switzerland 9
Austria wasn’t able to build upon their third consecutive victory, losing 8-0 to the hosts from Switzerland on Tuesday.
The Swiss were in full control from start to finish. Theo Rochette, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Damien Riat each scored in the first period to make it 4-0. Hischier would add his second and Calvin Thurkauf would get his first goal of the tournament to make it 6-0 just seconds after the halfway mark of the game.
That ended David Kickert’s night, with Florian Vorauer coming in to finish the game. Unfortunately for him, the Austrians couldn’t find a way to beat Leonardo Genoni, who was stout the rest of the way. Rochette and Riat would each tally their second goals of the game before the final buzzer, while Christoph Bertschy would make it 9-0. Genoni turned away all 20 shots sent his way for the 13th shutout of his World Championship career.
Switzerland remains first in Group A with 12 points thanks to a perfect 4-0 record. Austria will hold on to third with nine points, which give them some healthy breathing room to make the quarterfinals.
Austria
#78 Thimo Nickl, D: It was mostly Austria’s bottom-six that got caved in. Thickly, meanwhile, was the driving force behind a few of Austria’s scoring chances in this game, registering a team-high three shots. He also ate a ton of minutes and kept his composure even as the team was obliterated on the scoresheet.
Switzerland
#13 Nico Hischier, C (New Jersey Devils): Not a bad two-goal game. Hischier does a lot of his damage away from the puck, but he was consistently in the swing of things all day and kept the Austrians busy in their own zone. Hischier has been excellent at both ends of the ice, and nobody seems to be able to push him around, either.
#28 Timo Meier, RW (New Jersey Devils): Meier had a goal and an assist in the first period to put this game out of reach. He also made some great plays in the D-zone to help keep the Swiss in front. Meier loves to generate scoring chances while playing at a high-octane pace. Meier was one of Switzerland’s best players at the Olympics a few months ago, and we all know how dominant he was at the 2025 World Championship. He’s been great here, too.
#62 Denis Malgin, C: Malgin is such a smooth facilitator, but he also has a great release, too. Malgin made a solid pass to Theo Rochette on the 1-0 goal and then had a great chance of his own a few minutes later that ultimately didn’t pan out. Malgin did snag another assist on the 8-0 goal, though. Malgin wasn’t able to make his NHL career work, but he’s a skilled, smart forward who has proven he can dominate at this level on an annual basis. He’s been great so far.
#85 Sven Andrighetto, LW: With two assists in the opening frame, Andrighetto looked great. The former NHLer is already one of the tournament’s leading point producers, showing equal strength as a shooter and a passer. Last year, he couldn’t stop scoring, but it feels like he’s a much more rounded, dangerous threat this time around. Andrighetto has been one of the tournament’s early MVP candidates, for sure.
#93 Theo Rochette, RW: Rochette had a strong two-goal, three-point game, starting the game off hot before adding the seventh Swiss goal. He has an excellent shot and doesn’t make many mistakes in one-shot opportunities. He’s strong, smart and skates better than I remember him, too. I would love to see an NHL team take a chance on him down the line.
#94 Attilio Biasca, LW: Biasca is a solid support player. He chases after every puck like his life depends on it, and he hits hard, too. I was surprised he wasn’t drafted back in 2023 because while he isn’t a big-time producer, he works hard and doesn’t lose many physical battles. That play style was exactly what led to the third Swiss goal today, and the first point of his World Championship career. More of that, Biasca.
Czechia 3, Italy 1
Czechia has become the first team this year to win after allowing the first goal, scoring three unanswered goals in the third period to beat Italy 3-1.
The Czechs have taken over top spot in Group B with 10 points through four games – just one point ahead of Canada. Italy, meanwhile, remains last without a win, with Denmark holding a better goal-differential.
The Italians were heavily outplayed in this one, with goaltender Damian Clara having to make 55 saves on 57 shots. His play managed to spark his team, though, as Nicholas Saracino scored Italy’s second goal of the tournament midway through the second to make it 1-0. But goals from Marek Alscher, Jakub Flek and Dominik Kubalik (empty-netter) gave the Czechs some relief, giving them their third round-robin victory of the tournament.
Czechia
#18 Dominik Kubalik, LW: The former NHL forward was everywhere in this one, trying to figure out a way to beat Clara. The high-end shooter isn’t the hardest-working player you’ll find, but he’s difficult to contain in scoring lanes and always seems to be in the right spot at the right time in the O-zone. The big winger hasn’t had an offensive explosion yet, but he has been one of Czechia’s better players in a tournament that has gone anything but smooth. He’ll be happy about the empty-netter, though.
#95 Daniel Vozenilek, LW: Vozenilek has been solid for the Czechs the past two years, and he tried everything in his power to lead his team to victory in this one. He had four shots in the second period alone, giving the second line a ton of juice. I like how much energy he plays with, and the Italians couldn’t seem to slow down the 6-foot-3, 216-pound power forward, no matter how hard they tried.
#96 David Tomasek, C: Tomasek is a tough guy to beat, especially in the neutral zone. He’s built tough, and his physical play and ability to force turnovers resulted in a pair of third-period assists. The 30-year-old is a solid playmaker who tends to mesh well with whoever he’s paired with, and now has four assists through four games.
Italy
#20 Damian Clara, G (Anaheim Ducks): Clara’s top division debut was an excellent one. He kept the Italians in it from the get-go, as he did on numerous occasions during the Olympics. He had 40 saves through two periods, including a major pad stop with eight seconds to go in the middle stanza. The big goaltender doesn’t give many bad rebounds, and he’s quite athletic, too. At his best, he’s a tough goalie to beat because he rarely gives you little space and has the speed to get where he needs to be.
#13 Matt Bradley, C: The former Montreal Canadiens prospect was good today. He had three shots in the second period as the Italians tried to force themselves into this one. His energy, speed and skill are by far the best on the Italian roster, and he proved it by creating some of Italy’s best opportunities.
Slovenia 0, Sweden 6
Slovenia wasn’t able to capitalize on their late-game heroics against Slovakia from Tuesday, dropping a 6-0 decision to Sweden on Wednesday.
Sweden dominated the game from the get-go, scoring twice in the opening period to kick things off. Lucas Raymond and Jaco de la Rose each scored twice in this one, including the opening markers in the first.
Robert Haag and Mattias Ekholm had the other goals, while Anton Frondell had a two-assist night in his tournament debut. Arvid Soderblom wasn’t overly busy, but he made two breakaway saves in an eventual 16-save shutout effort.
Sweden is now tied with Norway for fourth in Group B, giving them six points through four games. Slovenia, meanwhile, still owns the sixth spot with three points, with both Denmark and Italy chasing their first points of the tourney.
Slovenia
#15 Blaz Gregorc, D: Gregorc was out there playing heavy minutes against quality competition and eventually ran out of steam. The 36-year-old defender is big and takes up quite a bit of space, forcing opponents to the outside. Given the task at hand, he did as much as he could have possibly done.
Sweden
#13 Lucas Raymond, RW (Detroit Red Wings): Raymond loves scoring goals. He had a pair today, making no mistake on two perfectly placed wristers. He’s one of the most impactful players at this tournament, both from a shooting proficiency standpoint and from an offensive dominance angle. He’s always good for Sweden, but with fewer superstars at this event, Raymond has looked extra impressive in scoring situations.
#15 Jack Berglund, C (Philadelphia Flyers): That’s another excellent effort from the Flyers prospect. He doesn’t wow you with his offensive play. Instead, it’s how hard he works to make sure he never loses an individual battle. I know he was playing against Slovenia, but he made every battle look easy, just like he did quite consistently against Canada on the opening night of the tournament.
#16 Anton Frondell, LW (Chicago Blackhawks): Good thing the Swedes had Frondell sit those other games, right? This was Frondell’s first game of the tournament, and he made the most of it with a pair of assists. He also had no problem overpowering opponents around the crease and creating havoc as Sweden’s 13th forward. He was, by all accounts, the most effective 13th forward we’ve seen so far in this tournament. There’s no way they can justify keeping him out of the lineup now.
#23 Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D (Toronto Maple Leafs): That was a huge three-assist effort for the Swedish defender. He was great on the power play, and he seemingly found Raymond every time they shared the ice. OEL is a strong, smart defender coming off a great year in Toronto, and he has been Sweden’s best defenseman at this event at both ends of the ice.
#95 Jacob de la Rose, LW: Many Swedish fans wondered why de la Rose was still in the lineup at this point in the tournament. But his strong net-front presence led to a pair of goals, marking one of his best performances in tournament history. The former NHL winger isn’t quick, so he has to make the most of his time around the slot and crease, and the Slovenians couldn’t figure him out, it seemed.
Germany 3, vs. USA 4 (SO)
The United States trailed multiple times, but they ultimately made things work in the shootout to snag the 4-3 victory over Germany.
The Americans have moved into fourth place in Group A, while the Germans will remain in seventh – but no longer have a goose egg in the point column.
Germany needed just one shot to get on the board. Mortiz Seider whistled a shot past Devin Cooley to break the ice, only for Ike Howard to tie it up at 14:33. The Americans would take the lead at 25:06 when Max Sasson took advantage of a rebound opportunity in tight.
But goals from Frederik Tiffels and Marc Michaelis about four minutes apart changed everything, with the Germans suddenly finding themselves back in the lead. USA needed a bit of desperation in the third period to get back in it, and Tommy Novak was in the right spot at the right time to force overtime.
But, like Slovenia and Slovakia on Tuesday, extra time solved nothing. This game required a shootout, where Ryan Leonard would score on USA’s final shot to lift the Americans to the victory.
Germany
#53 Moritz Seider, D (Detroit Red Wings): Just consider his placement on here as an automatic entry every time. He scored the opening goal in the first and then played against all of USA’s top players the rest of the night, as expected. Seider absolutely should have been a Norris Trophy finalist – he’s difficult to play against at both ends of the ice. With no Tim Stutzle or Leon Draisaitl, Seider has extra pressure to carry the load at this event.
#65 Marc Michaelis, C: Michaelis is a pain in the butt in the slot. He continuously wins battles against just about anyone, and has the pure strength to power through and create chances. He scored the 3-2 goal off a nice wrister. Michaelis is also no slouch defensively, either thanks to his brute force strength.
#95 Frederik Tiffels, RW: Tiffels had the primary assist on Germany’s first goal of the game and then scored the game-tying 2-2 goal in the second. That goal, in particular, seemingly woke up the German attack, who then proved to be more dangerous the rest of the way. Tiffels has been leaned on as an offensive leader so far but this was his best game.
USA
#9 Ryan Leonard, LW (Washington Capitals): I didn’t like Leonard in USA’s previous game, but I loved him today. It felt like he was involved in the whole game physically, and he helped create the game-tying goal. This was much more of a vintage performance from him – you noticed him all over the ice, every single shift.
#21 Alex Steeves, LW (Boston Bruins): NHL playing time has been hard for Steeves to come by, but I’ve been a fan of his for years. He had a pair of assists today, including on a great poke check that led to the first American goal. Steeves has quick hands and routinely pulls off smart moves in tight spaces. Consistency is still an issue, but I’ve liked his performance in the tournament.
#22 Ike Howard, RW (Edmonton Oilers): Howard scored for the Americans and then did the hard work on one of the later goals. He’s having a solid tournament, showing a high level of skill with the puck while also not being afraid to shoot from anywhere. Howard primarily played in the AHL this year, and was excellent. He’ll need to be more consistent in the NHL to stick around since he’s not much of a 200-foot player, but he can definitely decimate goaltenders with his release.
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