The men's World Championship is just days away. Ian Kennedy stacks up each Group A team, including the USA, Sweden, Finland, Germany and more.

The days count down to the beginning of the men's World Championship in Finland and Latvia on Friday. Group A is raring to get started in Tampere, Finland.

In a division featuring Sweden, USA and Finland, the real fight for a quarterfinal entry will come from the second half of Group A. Sweden, on paper, looks like the team to beat in this group, although Team USA’s mix of veteran depth and impact youth will be fun to watch. Give Germany the edge for fourth position right now, but in a tournament of this length, a hot goaltender or key injury can change everything.

Here’s a look at each team in Group A:

Team Sweden

When discussing gold medal favorites, Sweden must be included. 

They have a skilled blend of youth and experience. Jonatan Berggren and Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings are likely to pair up on one of Sweden’s top lines. Behind them, a supporting cast of current NHLers (Carl Grundstrom, Alex Nylander, Fabian Zetterlund and Jakob Silverberg) and former NHLers like Jacob de la Rose, Oscar Lindberg, Par Lindholm and Marcus Sorensen bring a wealth of depth and experience. 

NHL draft-eligible prospect Leo Carlsson is also on the roster. He’s a projected top-five pick, and scouts will be watching the hulking forward closely against men here. 

As deep as Sweden’s forward corps are, their blueline is equally well stocked with NHLers Rasmus Sandin and Patrik Nemeth at the core. The group will be strong puck-movers featuring two of Europe’s top offensive blueliners in Henrik Tommernes and Jonathan Pudas, along with NHL-experienced defenders Joel Persson and Anton Lindholm. 

In net, one of the world’s top young netminders, Jesper Wallstedt, will be ready and waiting to steal the show. The Swedes are certainly medal contenders.

Team USA

As they’ve done in recent seasons, Team USA brings a mix of up-and-coming stars and veteran NHL players, although they are absent of the top American players in the game.

Eight players have World Championship experience, headlined by 36-goal scorer Alex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres and 14-year NHL veteran and two-time Stanley Cup champion, Nick Bonino, who will provide veteran leadership to the roster. 

Some of the more intriguing names to watch on Team USA are the youth. Lane Huston and Cutter Gauthier are the lone teenagers on the roster having recently completed their rookie NCAA seasons. Gauthier, the fifth overall pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Huston, a second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, both represented USA at the world juniors this year. 

Another player to watch for Team USA is Detroit Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur, who turned pro following an exceptional season with the University of Denver. He made an immediate impact in the AHL by scoring six points in six games.

Team Finland

Mikko Rantanen headlines an intriguing Finnish roster after scoring 105 points this season for the Colorado Avalanche. While other rosters lack star power, Rantanen brings that to Finland. 

While Finland’s attack is also bolstered by the likes of Kaapo Kakko and Kasperi Kapanen, two players to watch will be Antti Suomela, who scored a league-leading 37 goals and 66 points en route to being named the SHL’s MVP this season, and Teemu Hartikainen, who led the Swiss National League in goals with 28. 

On the blueline, the veteran presence of Olli Maatta will lead the way. The starting goalie is likely Emil Larmi after he was named the SHL’s playoff MVP and led the league in shutouts, GAA and save percentage.

Team Germany

Germany can flux between a nation you don’t want to play and a team you can bank on beating. At the 2023 World Championship, Germany is trending toward the latter.

Two key Germans, Philipp Grubauer and Leon Draisaitl, are still entrenched in the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs. But sadly for the team, other NHLers like Tim Stutzle and Lukas Reichel, who could have played, aren’t. 

The offensive heavy lifting will be left to the lone NHLers on the roster J.J. Peterka and Nico Sturm. Former NHLer Dominik Kahun could also factor in, but the bulk of Germany’s roster comes from the Deutsche Eishockey League (DEL). Germany got a major boost after unveiling their initial roster when Mortiz Seider was declared fit to play for the tournament. They won’t be easy to play against and are always a staunch defensive team, but the roster is undeniably short on impact players.

Team Austria

When the Austrian team takes to the ice, all eyes will be on a pair of their younger players, Marco Rossi and David Reinbacher. 

Rossi, a former first-round pick, looks to be on the precipice of making an offensive impact in the NHL after enjoying a breakout season with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. He only had a single assist in 19 games in the NHL but will be Austria’s most dangerous forward, getting plenty of offensive zone starts. A solid World Championship could translate into finally cracking the NHL full-time. 

The other player scouts and fans will be watching is the 2023 NHL draft-eligible Reinbacher. Already considered a first-round prospect after two solid seasons in the Swiss NL, Reinbacher has been climbing all season and looks like a real contender to go in the top 15. A solid showing at the World Championship could push Reinbacher higher still. Austria will be in a battle to avoid relegation.

Team Denmark

It will be interesting to see how this mishmash roster fares against the top nations. 

Part of Denmark’s roster, like forwards Nikolaj Ehlers, longtime NHLer Mikkel Boedker and veteran Frederik Storm, will be able to compete. But there are significant talent gaps in the bottom half of their roster, which could create frequent mismatches on the ice. 

Denmark is bringing a trio of young players worth watching. Montreal Canadiens draft pick Frederik Dichow will likely be the starting goaltender. The 6-foot-5 behemoth has been a slow burn on the development side and may never play into the Habs plans, but he has the chance to steal the show here. 

Defender Kasper Larsen recently finished his second season in the OHL and has put together back-to-back campaigns where he showcased his offensive upside. The 20-year-old has an opportunity to impress scouts playing against men. Similarly, 2023 NHL draft prospect Oscar Fisker Molgaard is currently considered a second-round prospect but could fight his way toward the late first round with a strong tournament.

Team France

There’s a notable lack of top-end talent on Team France. 

Alexandre Texier, a highly touted draft pick who spent the past three seasons playing with the Columbus Blue Jackets is the biggest name on the roster. He played in Switzerland this year, but at 23, he still has NHL upside and plans to return to the Blue Jackets next season. 

Former Montreal Canadiens pick Tim Bozon, NCAA star Louis Boudon and ECHLer Justin Addamo bring additional North American experience to the roster, but the bulk of France’s lineup is playing in lower European leagues. 

In net, it will be interesting to see if France hands the crease to the monstrous Julian Junca, undersized Quentin Papillon or the veteran Sebastian Ylonen. Whoever it is will face plenty of rubber in keeping France out of the relegation round.

Team Hungary

The only hope for Hungary is to avoid relegation…and it will be an uphill battle. 

The bulk of their roster are playing in Erste Liga, which is notably down the list of quality leagues in Europe. The team only has two players competing in Europe’s top leagues in Vilmos Gallo, who plays with Linkoping in Sweden, and Balazs Sebok who played for Ilves in Finland. 

One player who could draw interest from onlookers is 20-year-old defender Zeteny Hadobas. The 6-foot-2 blueliner had a good season in Sweden’s J20 loop and was named the best defenseman at the 2023 Div. 1-A world juniors, leading the tournament in scoring with 11 points.