It’s been known for quite a few days that Mike Matheson would be heading to the World Championship to compete for Team Canada alongside Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Marc-Andre Fleury, to name a few, but on Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens announced that someone else was going.

Canadiens: About That Crosby Pipe Dream...
Canadiens’ Farm Team Laval Rocket Through To Round Three
Canadiens: Caufield Speaks To The Media

No, it wasn’t Cole Caufield, who was golfing in Paradise Valley, Arizona, according to his Instagram, or captain Nick Suzuki, who said he needed to be cleared by the Habs to go last time we heard; no, it was Emil Heineman.

It won’t be Heineman’s first time suiting up for his country, but his rookie season in Montreal can’t have hurt to get the invite. While he spent most of the season on the fourth line, the young Swede put up 18 points in 62 games but was on course for much more when his season was derailed in Utah.

The 23-year-old was hit by a car while walking in Salt Lake City. Thankfully, he escaped the ordeal almost unscathed, only suffering a wrist injury. Still, the ailment made him miss 20 games and stopped what was a productive season up to this point. Before his injury, he had scored 17 points in 41 games and was on pace for 34 points. In the 21 games he played after the injury, he could only manage a single point in 21 games.

Heineman is not just about the points. He was one of the players who really thrived playing a hard forechecking game and was part of one of the Canadiens’ most reliable trios with Joel Armia and Jake Evans. He finished the season with 173 hits, only 21 behind team leader Juraj Slafkovsky, who played 17 more games and saw a lot more ice time.

This season, the tournament is held jointly in Sweden and Denmark and will kick off on Friday, May 9. The Swedes are in Group A alongside Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Latvia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

There are plenty of big names on Sweden’s roster, with Jacob Markstrom in goal, Rasmus Andersson on defense, and Filip Forsberg and Mikka Zibanejad up front, to name a few. This strong roster hopes to improve its third-place showing from a year ago. The Swedes will kick off their tournament with a game against Slovakia on Friday at 2:20 PM.

Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.  

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.