The men's World Championship is already ripe with storylines, including more NHL players joining Team Switzerland, veterans leading USA and Canada, and more.
The opening days of the 2023 men’s World Championship are in the books, and several interesting storylines are beginning to develop.
The world’s top teams are playing as expected, positioning themselves atop their respective groups in the early days, but as NHL players continue to head overseas, dynamics are continuing to change.
Switzerland Loads Up for Medal Hunt
Playing in Group B, Switzerland looks like the early favorite to challenge Canada for the top spot in the group. They already defeated Slovenia 7-0 on Friday and Norway 3-0 on Sunday. Canada only beat Slovenia 5-2 on Sunday, and the Swiss will get a huge boost as more NHL players were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Switzerland will welcome Nico Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler from the New Jersey Devils along with Kevin Fiala from the Los Angeles Kings.
Hischier, who captains the Devils, had 31 goals and 80 points in 81 games this season. Fiala notched 23 goals and 72 points in 69 games for the Kings. Joining the likes of Nino Niederreiter and Denis Malgin up front, the Swiss now have a top six that can push the pace against the best nations in the tournament.
Adding Siegenthaler to the blueline may prove even more impactful, as he immediately becomes Switzerland’s No. 1 blueliner. He averaged almost 21 minutes per night for New Jersey in the playoffs and recorded 21 points in 80 regular-season games. Jumping in alongside Arizona Coyotes blueliner Janis Moser and former NHLer Dean Kukan, Siegenthaler shores up a position that needed help for the Swiss.
With games against Kazakhstan and Slovakia still to come before their matchups against Canada and Czechia, the other two front-runners to advance from Group B, the Swiss are trending up.
Defending Champs Off to Slow Start
Watching Team Finland sputter through their opening two games on home ice was painful at times. Team USA handed Finland a 4-1 loss, holding the host nation to only 24 shots. That total included zero by Mikko Rantanen, who the Finns will need to continue the offensive dominance he displayed in the NHL over recent seasons.
In their second game, Finland squeaked out their first win of the tournament, slipping by Germany 4-3. Sakari Manninen's two goals and six shots propelled Finland to the win. He had a strong 40-point season with the AHL Henderson after signing with the Vegas Golden Knights last off-season, but he will return to Europe next season after signing with Swiss National League’s Geneve-Servette. The lights finally turned on for Rantanen in the game as well, which bodes well for Finland moving forward as he picked up a pair of assists.
In one of hockey's best international rivalries, Finland faces Sweden on Monday at 1:20 p.m. ET.
Veterans Lead USA and Canada
While the youthful names on Team Canada and Team USA took a lot of the pre-tournament headlines, it’s the veterans on both rosters who are powering North America’s teams early on.
MacKenzie Weegar leads all scorers through two games with six points. The Calgary Flames blueliner has emerged as the main distributor and guiding force for Canada’s attack from the back end.
Alex Tuch and Rocco Grimaldi have driven play for the USA. Tuch is coming off a 36-goal season with the Buffalo Sabres, and he picked up where he left off by scoring three times through the first two games of the World Championship.
Grimaldi is representing the USA for the first time since he won back-to-back gold with the U-18 national team followed by world juniors gold. Grimaldi found himself outside the NHL for the first time in his nine-year professional career, but he was exceptional in the AHL this season. He scored more than a point per game and looks like he’s playing with something to prove.