2026 IIHF World Championship: Stenberg, Finnie highlight top standouts on Day 8
Canada, Germany, Finland and Sweden capped off a big day at the IIHF World Championship in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, just before the third six-game day of the tournament is set to commence.
Slovenia, Hungary, Great Britain and Italy took home losses on Friday, with all the pre-game favorites finishing in the win column.
Switzerland and Finland have 15 points apiece to sit on top of Group A, while Canada’s 4-1-0-0 record has them at 14 points and first in Group B.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Friday:
Canada 3, Slovenia 1
Canada dominated the puck control game on Friday against Slovenia – but the 3-1 score definitely was closer than most would have expected.
Canada currently owns the top spot in Group B with 14 points. Slovenia, meanwhile, remains in sixth with three points, but with a small window to get themselves into a playoff spot.
The Canadians scored a goal per period, starting with Denton Mateychuk’s wrister at 11:07. Dylan Cozens then tallied one in the second period, with Emmitt Finnie tallying his first with Canada at 46:41. Jet Greaves looked destined to finish the game with a shutout, but Slovenian defender Rozle Bohinc went five-hole on him with under two minutes to go to give the losing side something to celebrate.
Canada
#5 Denton Mateychuk, D (Columbus Blue Jackets): Mateychuk scored a goal he pulled off so many times in the WHL, and then proceeded to keep himself involved on the puck the rest of the night. The two-way blueliner plays with speed and definitely knows how to fire the puck. It took him a few days to get himself fully up to speed at this tournament, but he has gotten better with every passing game. That goal felt like a nice reward for what had been a solid few shifts before that.
#58 Emmitt Finnie, LW (Detroit Red Wings): The Canadians have swapped Finnie and Dawson Mercer out each game as the 13th forward. And today, Finnie’s energy really rubbed off on the roster in a big way. The talented, skilled winger was buzzing all over the offensive zone and would go on to tip Morgan Rielly’s 3-0 goal that ultimately put the game out of reach. Finnie had just four shifts before that, but it felt like he was engaged every time he hit the ice, and even had an assist on the opening goal. It was as good an effort as you’d get from a guy who played so little, and I hope we see his ice time increase after that. Sure, it was against Slovenia, but he was Canada’s most effective player overall.
#87 Sidney Crosby, LW (Pittsburgh Penguins): Breaking news: Crosby is really, really good. I like how Crosby opens lanes up for whoever he plays with. The Slovenians seemed preoccupied with him all night long, and it allowed Crosby’s linemates extra room to do whatever they wanted. That led to Crosby registering an assist on the second goal, for good measure. That was a nice bounce-back effort for No. 87 after having a much quieter showing against Norway yesterday.
#93 Fraser Minten, C (Boston Bruins): Minten had the primary assist on the 1-0 goal and then cleared space for Finnie to score on the third goal by taking one of the Slovenian defenders out of action. Minten’s tournament has been dominated by throwing defenders off their games and allowing his linemates the freedom to do whatever they want in the attacking zone. He has been one of my favorites on this Canadian team.
Slovenia
#33 Zan Us, G: Us was the only reason why the Slovenians stayed tight in this one. The small, but athletic goaltender couldn’t have done much on the two goals against from the opening 40. But he knows a thing or two about being busy, especially after facing 45 shots in a lop-sided affair against Sweden a few days ago.
Germany 6, Hungary 2
Germany has finally won its first game of the tournament, beating Hungary 6-2 to move into fifth place.
Hungary will move to sixth after beating Great Britain earlier in the tournament.
Eric Mik and Leon Gawanke scored a goal each in the first period, with the floodgates opening later on. Lukas Reichel and Samuel Dove-McFalls scored a goal each in the final minute of the second period to put the pressure on Hungary.
Tamas Sarpatki and Janos Hari scored to give Hungary some life, but Gawanke would go on to add two more to complete the hat-trick and give the Germans the convincing victory.
Germany
#9 Leon Gawanke, D: It’s hard to beat a hat-trick, right? The 26-year-old had scored just three goals in 27 World Championship games before today, but came alive tonight. He has been solid all week, having registered two assists prior to tonight. But today, anything he wanted to do with the puck seemed to work.
#15 Stefan Loibl, LW: Loibl had two assists in this one, even though the first assist on the 2-0 goal was a bit fluky. Still, it felt like he did a good job of hanging around the crease and getting the puck to his linemates in front. Loibl is more of a support forward who uses his frame to open scoring spaces, but he’s also a good puck facilitator.
#44 Josh Samanski, C (Edmonton Oilers): Samanski had an assist in this one, but I also really liked how he continuously broke up plays heading the other way. The big, playmaking forward sees the ice well and plays with a ton of muscle. He’s not a play-driver, but he makes life easier for his linemates by retrieving pucks, forcing turnovers, and setting guys up for scoring chances.
#65 Marc Michaelis, C: Michaelis had three assists in this one, continuing his run as Germany’s top forward. He’s a good heads-up forward who is always looking for the right pass, and he makes a living hanging around the net. The Adler Mannheim forward struggled early in this tournament, but has been a big reason for Germany’s much stronger play the past two games as he continues to get the puck into dangerous areas.
Hungary
#5 Doman Szongoth, C (2026 NHL Draft): Szongoth didn’t score today, but he had one taken back due to goal interference. Time and time again, though, it felt like he was one of the only players capable of generating chances down the ice, especially given that Hungary had just four shots through two periods. I like him because he’s fearless, but he also knows when it’s better to trail back and look for a second opportunity.
Finland 4, Great Britain 0
Finland registered four goals from defensemen in this one to beat Great Britian 4-0.
Ville Heinola led the way with a pair of goals, while Mikko Lehtonen and Henri Jokiharju scored one apiece. Joonas Korpisalo stopped all nine shots sent his way, while Mat Robson turned away 43 chances in the lopsided affair.
Finland has tied Switzerland again for the top spot in Group A with an identical 5-0 record. Switzerland currently owns a better goal differential by two goals, giving them the top spot for now.
Finland
#41 Ville Heinola, D (Winnipeg Jets): If the Jets are ever going to move on from Heinola, he’s doing them a favor thanks to his hot play. Heinola has been one of Finland’s best players at this tournament, but he upped the ante with two goals in this one to give Finland a nice advantage. Heinola has bounced between the NHL and AHL for half a decade but hasn’t managed to make it work. Now, as Finland’s top defender, he has come alive with some great play through five games.
#64 Mikael Granlund, LW (Anaheim Ducks): Granlund has been such a great addition to Finland since joining earlier in the week. He obviously plays with a ton of skill, but he’s also tough to take the puck off of and doesn’t panic under pressure. I like how he is always roaming in the attacking zone and is dynamic enough as a shooter and a passer. Today felt like his best game.
#94 Konsta Helenius, RW (Buffalo Sabres): Helenius made his tournament debut and it didn’t take long for him to register his first point. He was Finland’s top net-front presence guy today, giving Granlund and Aleksander Barkov the space needed to do all the other offensive zone work. Helenius is a strong, two-way forward you can rely on in many situations, and he’s playing with maximum confidence after a great showing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He’s going to be a problem in the NHL sooner rather than later.
Great Britain
#20 Mat Robson, G: It’s hard to go back-to-back, but Robson stood up to the task today – at least, as much as he could have. The Brits don’t have much in terms of dangerous scorers, so Robson had to make some big stops to keep his team in it. The Finns ultimately proved to be too strong around the net, but Robson made over 40 stops with relative ease today.
Italy 0, Sweden 3
Italy played one of its best games of the tournament, but it wasn’t enough to beat Magnus Hellberg and the Swedes, who held on for a 3-0 win.
Ivar Stenberg, one of the top prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft, scored twice, with fellow draft prospect Viggo Bjorck nabbing a pair of assists. Carl Grundstrom has the other goal for the Swedes, who have now overtaken Norway for fourth in Group B. Italy, meanwhile, remains in last place without a point, but will have a massive game against the Danes on Sunday in what could potentially decide who gets relegated.
Hellberg, meanwhile, stopped all 10 shots sent his way for his first shutout of the tournament.
Italy
#20 Damian Clara, G (Anaheim Ducks): Who else? Clara has been fantastic at this event, as expected. He moves well for a 6-foot-6 goalie and obviously the huge frame to work with. The Swedes kept him busy all night, but Clara stayed calm, cool, and collected while turning away shots with relative ease. Italy still looks destined to get relegated at this point, but Clara gives them an opportunity to keep games close, just like he did at the Olympics.
Sweden
#23 Lucas Raymond, RW (Detroit Red Wings): Raymond does so much of his damage standing still, drawing opponents to him and using his patience to get the puck into a scoring lane. His ability to outwait defenders gave his two younger linemates more time to get into position, and it paid off in a big way today.
#41 Ivar Stenberg, LW (2026 NHL Draft): Two goals? Heck yeah. Stenberg had his best game of the tournament, scoring the second and third goals for Sweden. That helped set the course for the rest of the night, with Stenberg clearly playing with as much poise as we’ve seen from him. He’s a skilled winger who is pushing to go first overall in the draft, and this tournament has been excellent for his exposure.
#61 Viggo Bjorck, C (2026 NHL Draft): I’ve loved Bjorck’s tournament. It doesn’t matter who he goes up against, he seemingly wins every puck battle in front of the net. He got the primary assist on Stenberg’s 2-0 goal after moving Raymond’s feed over to the far circle. Bjorck then set up Stenberg on a rush chance later in the game to make it 3-0. Bjorck hasn’t had a bad game yet – he hasn’t looked out of place despite being much younger than just about everyone.