Mikael Granlund and Team Finland won gold versus Switzerland, while Stian Solberg and Team Norway beat Team Canada in the bronze medal game.
The 2026 IIHF World Championship finished with a flourish thanks to Konsta Helenius’s overtime winner for Team Finland in the gold medal game against Team Switzerland.
Earlier in the day, Team Norway came out victorious against Team Canada in the bronze medal game, despite blowing a 2-0 lead. Noah Steen’s overtime winner gave Norway their first medal in Men’s Worlds history.
Mikael Granlund and Stian Solberg were part of those medal-winning squads for Finland and Norway, respectively. Granlund was not available for Ducks exit interviews, traveling almost immediately to Switzerland to join up with Finland for the ongoing tournament. He had one goal and five assists in seven games, playing primary alongside Helenius and Aleksander Barkov on Finland’s top line.
Solberg played big minutes for Norway on the blue line throughout the tournament, averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time per game. Paired with Johannes Johannesen on the top defensive pair, Solberg had two points in 10 games and a plus-5 rating. His singular goal gave Norway a 2-0 lead in the bronze medal game.
This is Granlund’s second medal in a little over three months after he captained Finland to a bronze medal at the Milano Cortina Olympic Games. Granlund now owns eight Olympic medals.
It was Solberg’s standout performances at the 2024 Men’s Worlds which caused his draft stock to rise, with the Ducks trading up to select him at 23rd overall. His strength and knack for using his physicality to deter opposing attackers were two attributes that stood out to Ducks assistant general manager Martin Madden and the rest of their scouting staff. An improved offensive game paired with mobility is helping Solberg round out into a promising all-round player. He’ll likely compete for a spot on the Ducks’ blue line next season.
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