Sasson & USA Register Second Regulation Win Of The Tournament: Canucks At The 2026 World Championship

One day remains before the preliminary round of the 2026 IIHF World Championship concludes. Two members of the Vancouver Canucks took part in today’s matchups, including a 7–3 win for Team USA over Hungary and a surprising 4–1 win for Norway over Czechia. Here is a recap of the Canucks’ performances at the 2026 IIHF World Championship on May 25. 

While the bulk of their tournament has been fairly disappointing, with the team only registering one regulation win prior to today’s game, Team USA managed to put up a solid 7–3 victory against Hungary in their penultimate matchup of the preliminaries. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tommy Novak and Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk made big impacts in today’s game, putting up five and four points respectively. 

As per usual, Canucks forward Max Sasson skated alongside linemates Paul Cotter and Mathieu Olivier. While this trio has factored into Team USA’s scoring relatively frequently throughout this year’s tournament, none of the three ended up collecting any points in today’s effort. They did, however, contribute two shots each in the U.S.’s 46-shot affair. Sasson finished towards the bottom of the team’s roster in time on ice, logging 12:50 minutes today. 

In a surprising twist, Czechia suffered a 4–1 defeat to Norway, who leaps up Group B’s standings and into the former’s second-placed position with the win. New York Rangers forward Jaroslav Chmelař was the lone player to score for Czechia in today’s effort, while Håvard Østrem Salsten, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (2), and Martin Rønnild scored for Norway. 

While Filip Hronek didn’t end up on the scoresheet today, one interesting situation unfolded post-game regarding the Canucks defenceman. Norway’s Noah Steen was seen pestering Hronek after Czechia’s loss, leading Hronek to slash at the forward’s knee with his stick. The Canucks defenceman was not penalized for the play. During the game itself, Hronek played in a total of 22:14 minutes — lower than most of his other totals during this tournament, but still a team-high today. 

Group A: 

Switzerland: 6–0–0–0

Finland: 6–0–0–0

Germany: 3–0–1–3

Austria: 3–0–0–3

Latvia: 3–0–0–3

USA: 2–1–0–3

Hungary: 1–0–0–5

Great Britain: 0–0–0–7

Group B: 

Canada: 5–1–0–0

Norway: 4–0–1–1

Czechia: 4–0–1–1

Slovakia: 3–1–0–2

Sweden: 3–0–0–3

Slovenia: 1–1–1–4

Denmark: 1–1–0–4

Italy: 0–0–1–6

USA vs. Austria - 7:20 am PT

Sweden vs. Slovakia - 7:20 am PT

Switzerland vs. Finland - 11:20 am PT 

Czechia vs. Canada - 11:20 am PT 

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