2026 IIHF World Championship: Celebrini, Puljujarvi highlight top standouts from Day 10
The playoff picture is starting to look a bit clearer at the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Switzerland.
Canada, Finland, Latvia, and Denmark all took home victories on Sunday, beating Slovakia, Austria, Great Britain, and Italy, respectively. GB will be one of two teams heading down to Division IA for 2027 after getting relegated, while Italy kept their hopes alive by snagging a point against Denmark.
Here’s a look at the standings with two days left in the round-robin:
| # | GROUP A | GP | W | WO | LO | L | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 2 | Finland | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 3 | Austria | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 4 | Latvia | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 5 | Germany | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | USA | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 | Hungary | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| 8 | Great Britain | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| # | GROUP B | GP | W | WO | LO | L | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 3 | Slovakia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 4 | Norway | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 5 | Sweden | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 6 | Denmark | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 7 | Slovenia | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 8 | Italy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
Here are the top standouts from Sunday:
Great Britain 0, Latvia 6
Latvia has strengthened their hopes of making the quarterfinals after a convincing 6-0 win over Great Britain.
The Latvians will move into fourth place in Group A with nine points, two ahead of Germany. Team GB, meanwhile, will be relegated to Division IA for 2027, marking their third trip to the second-tier tournament since 2023.
Latvia started the game with a strong three-goal opening period, with Martins Dzierkals, Deniss Smirnovs and Rudolfs Balcers all finding the back of the net. Eduards Tralmaks, Haralds Egle and Renars Krastenbergs all scored in the second to make it 6-0, with neither team allowing a goal in the third.
Great Britain
#17 Mark Richardson, D: Richardson was busy, having to deal with the Latvian attack quite consistently tonight. He led all British defenders with three shots, but he also broke up a few near-goals from the faster Latvian attack. The veteran blueliner is a shutdown defenseman who doesn’t do much with the puck, but he’s reliable in his own zone. Notably, he’s 39 without a contract next year, and 138 games to his credit – a true legend of British ice hockey.
Latvia
#21 Rudolfs Balcers, RW: Balcers won’t win the tournament MVP title, but after scoring his sixth goal of the tournament, it’s clear how important he is for the Latvians. He seems to be at the right spot at the right time so frequently, and he has an incredible shot, to boot. Latvia needed the victory today to get back into a playoff spot, and Balcers has been a huge reason they’re there right now.
#23 Sandis Vilmanis, LW (Florida Panthers): Vilmanis, man. What a tournament. He was instrumental in keeping the United States at bay on Saturday, and then he registered a pair of assists today. His primary assist on the 6-0 power-play goal was nice, in particular. He seems to be playing with much more confidence and higher hockey sense right now – this has absolutely been a breakout tournament for Vilmanis.
#34 Eduards Tralmaks, RW (Detroit Red Wings): Tralmaks joined Latvia after Grand Rapids’ playoff exit and made an immediate impact. He scored a goal and added an assist while playing with his usual mix of size, speed and power. Tralmaks is more of a depth player by NHL standards, but he’s a playdriver on a team like Latvia, and he managed that role quite nicely today.
Denmark 3, Italy 2 (OT)
Denmark has avoided any threat of relegation after beating Italy 3-2 in the shootout.
The Italians will need to beat Slovenia on Monday to avoid being sent back to Division IA, but today’s point keeps them alive for another day.
Denmark got off to a hot start, scoring twice just 16 seconds apart. Christian Wejse opened the fun at 2:33, while Mikael Aagaard scored on the next shift to make it 2-0.
That put the Italians on the back burner, but they’d bounce back in the second period. Tommy Purdeller scored twice, including once on the power play, to tie the game at 2-2. That would ultimately send the game into extra time, where Patrick Russell would score the lone goal to give Denmark the victory and the crucial two points.
Denmark
#30 Mads Sogaard, G (Ottawa Senators): Sogaard was a bit floppy in the second period, but he seemingly settled down and played well the rest of the afternoon. That was huge, given the Italians outplayed Denmark down the stretch, which forced Sogaard to make some big stops. He has been good over the past week and a half, outside of the potential injury scare a few games ago.
#42 Phillip Bruggisser, D: Bruggisser had an assist on the opening Danish game and then kept up the physical play against the Italian attackers the rest of the night. His big thing is taking space away or forcing guys to the outside. Bruggisser won’t wow you with his offensive play, but he’s a solid shutdown option and looked very strong at both ends today.
#77 Mathias From, RW: From was Denmark’s best player in the second period, in particular. He had three scoring chances as Italy had spent most of the time trying to create chances at the other end. I liked his speed and determination to win every single battle, even though he wasn’t able to break through on the scoresheet.
Italy
#35 Davide Fadani, G: Fadani allowed consecutive goals early in this one, but then bounced back with some excellent play the rest of the way. He’s the clear No. 2 on Italy behind Damian Clara, but Fadani has stolen games for Italy in the past. So in a must-win game, watching him struggle early before keeping the Italians in it, it was good to see.
#34 Tommy Purdeller, RW: What a night for the winger. Purdeller is one of the shining young stars of Italian hockey, but entered today without a goal. He then scored twice in the second period, including once on the power play, to turn everything around for the men in white, blue, red, and green. Purdeller has had a good tournament overall, but he was finally rewarded for the effort today.
#67 Mikael Frycklund, C: Frycklund is a beast of a human. He’s 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds and is the closest Italy has to a power forward in the top six. Frycklund is a solid passer who does a good job of finding open lanes. He might not win many races down the ice, but few Italians can hold their own like he can along the boards.
Canada 5, Slovakia 1
Canada will look to go undefeated in the round-robin after beating Slovakia 5-1 on Sunday.
Canada has one game left on the docket, taking on Czechia on Tuesday. The Czechs currently sit second in Group B with 13 points, four behind Canada. Slovakia, meanwhile, will remain in third place with 11 points – one ahead of Norway and two ahead of Sweden.
Dylan Cozens scored the lone goal in the first, with Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini combining with the helpers. Kristian Pospisil scored the lone goal for Slovakia in the second period, putting the pressure on the Canadians down the stretch.
Canada delivered when it mattered most. Gabe Vilaridi, John Tavares, Ryan O’Reilly and Celebrini all scored a goal each, giving Canada the 5-1 win after scoring four goals on their final nine shots.
Canada
#73 Jet Greaves. G (Columbus Blue Jackets): The Slovaks kept Greaves occupied in this one, especially later in the second period. There wasn’t much more he could have done on the 1-1 goal – that wrister was impressive. But Greaves stopped 11 shots in the second period as the Slovaks started to put the pressure on, and most were quality chances. I feel like he has struggled to read shots with his hands at this tournament but this was his best we’ve seen from him.
#71 Macklin Celebrini, C (San Jose Sharks): Celebrini was a man on a mission today. This felt like one of his better games – he pressured Hlavaj all game long. I like his chemistry with Crosby, but I also think his defensive play and penchant for getting the puck into dangerous areas at the other end make him so difficult to contain. That goal in the third was nice, too.
#87 Sidney Crosby, LW (Pittsburgh Penguins): Did you know Crosby is smart? Now you do. That pass that led to the 1-0 goal was incredible, and he then cleared a scoring lane on his next shift and nearly contributed another. Crosby does so much that doesn’t get rewarded for on the scoresheet, but he breaks up plays and gets the puck into scoring lanes as effectively as anyone.
#91 John Tavares, LW (Toronto Maple Leafs): Tavares had a huge third period, scoring a goal and adding an assist to help the Canadians win this. He got some help from some of his best buddies – Ryan O’Reilly and Morgan Rielly – to help give Canada exactly what they needed to pull away. I’ve liked his game on Canada’s third line.
Slovakia
#10 Adam Sykora, LW (New York Rangers): I loved Sykora’s energy in this one. He was buzzing all over the ice and hitting anyone who dared get in his way. That’s Sykora’s game – crash, bang, boom, and full of energy. Sykora didn’t score but he was easily the most noticeable Slovak around the net.
Austria 2, Finland 5
A dominant first half by Finland was all it took to walk away with a 5-2 victory over Austria.
Finland has improved to 6-0, with just one game remaining against Switzerland in a battle for first in Group A. Austria, meanwhile, will remain in third place with nine points, with Latvia and Germany hoping to overtake Austria in the standings over the next two days.
Finland scored the lone goal of the first, with Mikael Granlund scoring on the man advantage at 18:39. Saku Maenalanen, Jesse Puljujarvi and Sakarin Manninen all found the back of the net over a nine-minute span in the second, extending the lead to 4-0. Benjamin Nissner and Leon Wallner would give Austria a reason to celebrate in this one, but Patrik Pusitola’s third-period marker ensured Austria wouldn’t be able to fight back.
Austria
#30 David Kickert, G: The score ended up getting out of hand, but Kickert played well today, especially early. He couldn’t do much more – he was peppered by a Finnish team that was flying on all cylinders, but still made some excellent saves. I thought Kickert was in the perfect position on the first two goals against, too – sometimes, it just doesn’t work out.
Finland
#41 Ville Heinola, D (Winnipeg Jets): The offense has often run through Heinola at this tournament. He had a pair of goals in Finland’s last game, and then had an assist on the opening goal today. Heinola has been Finland’s best defenseman every single game, both offensively and defensively. It feels like he can’t do anything wrong, especially when he’s looking for Aleksander Barkov in front.
#13 Jesse Puljujärvi, RW: Puljujärvi had a goal and an assist in the second period to put this game out of reach. There has been a ton of conversation online about whether or not an NHL team should take a chance on him. I know this isn’t a best-on-best tournament, but Puljujärvi has outperformed most Finnish NHLers. He was productive in Switzerland this year and has played exceptionally well at points at this tournament. Consistency is still an issue, though – he did a whole lot of nothing in those blowout wins over USA and Latvia. Still, I’d love to see a team take a chance on him, but they’d have to commit to him given he has an NL deal already.
#15 Anton Lundell, C (Florida Panthers): Lundell’s two-way game was great again today. He had the primary assist on the 3-0 goal, but he also broke up a few Austrian attempts at the other end. Lundell plays with a ton of muscle and doesn’t let anyone push him around. I’ve liked his consistency at this tournament because he finds ways to stay relevant in his own zone when he isn’t scoring.
#21 Patrik Puistola, RW: Puistola scored the 5-1 goal for Finland, but also cleared some lanes on a few other chances the Finns had. He has been surprisingly dangerous as a net-front presence, but he also has the hands that make him so lethal. Puistola is a better skater than he was in his draft year (albeit the bar was low), and his raw skill and hockey sense definitely rank with the best among European players I’ve watched this year. Could a strong World Championship performance lead to an NHL deal?