2026 IIHF World Championship: Greaves, Koblar highlight top standouts from quarterfinals
The final four at the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship is set.
Canada, Finland, Norway, and Switzerland will play for a medal in Zurich, Switzerland following quarterfinal victories on Thursday. Canada and Finland have won multiple golds over the past decade, while Norway and Switzerland have never reached the top level of the podium.
USA, Czechia, Latvia, and Sweden will head home early after disappointing results during the opening day of playoff action.
Saturday’s playoff schedule will be:
Switzerland vs. Norway: 9:20 AM ET
Canada vs. Finland: 2:00 PM ET
Here’s a look at the top standouts from the four games today:
Canada 4, USA 0
Canada has erased the memories from last year’s quarterfinal loss to Denmark and will play for a medal in 2026 after beating the United States 4-0 today.
The loss means the Americans will be unable to defend their championship, and Matthew Tkachuk will fall short of joining the Triple Gold Club this year.
Macklin Celebrini and Dylan Holloway scored a goal each in the first half to put the game away, while Connor Brown and Sidney Crosby added empty-netters in the third for good measure. American goaltender Devin Cooley was excellent with 34 stops on 36 shots, but Jet Greaves saved all 34 shots sent his way for the shutout.
Canada
#73 Jet Greaves, G (Columbus Blue Jackets): Greaves was the difference-maker in this one. He was forced to make 34 stops, including a couple of five-bell opportunities. Greaves’ play has been a bit of a mixed bag at this tournament. But today, he locked in and played his best hockey of the month. Goaltending is going to be extremely critical the rest of the way, given some of the netminders still in the running, so Greaves is going to need to be excellent.
#71 Macklin Celebrini, C (San Jose Sharks): When has Celebrini not stood out at this tournament? He scored the opening (and game-winning) goal off a great fake shot in the first period, and it helped set the stage for the rest of the way. From there, Celebrini continued to break up plays and be an absolute nuisance to the American attackers. He just makes everyone better.
#87 Sidney Crosby, LW (Pittsburgh Penguins): About time, Sid! Crosby finally scored his first goal of the tournament… on an empty-netter. It’s crazy it took that long, but it came after his sixth shot of the game in one of his best performances of the tournament. It was his lone point, but Crosby’s two-way play is just so advanced that he rarely gave the Americans a high-quality opportunity to blast past him.
USA
#1 Devin Cooley, G (Calgary Flames): Cooley was at the top of his game today. He couldn’t have done much on the 1-0 goal and then wasn’t in net for the two empty-netters, obviously. I liked his crease control today, giving the Canadians very few rebound opportunities to deal with. Cooley’s athleticism and ability to find shots through traffic make him difficult to beat, as the Canadians found out today. His tournament is over, but I liked his play over the past two weeks.
#22 Ike Howard, RW (Edmonton Oilers): The Americans didn’t generate many dangerous scoring chances, but Howard seemed involved every time he hit the ice. I really liked his tournament – he pushed himself up USA’s lineup and gave the team a nice scoring weapon from the perimeter. But as the game went on today, he kept getting closer to the slot and creating even better chances. He didn’t score, but Howard was noticeable.
Czechia 1, Finland 4
Finland has advanced to the semifinal for the first time since winning gold at the 2022 tournament after beating Czechia 4-1 on Thursday.
The Czechs will fail to get a medal for third time in four years, having taken home gold in 2024.
Sakari Manninen and Anton Lundell scored a goal each in the first period to put the Czechs on the backburner. Konsta Helenius would then score early in the second period, which ultimately sunk Czechia. Filip Hronek would give his team a reason to celebrate at 30:51 on the two-man advantage, but Lenni Hameenaho took any Czech joy away late in the third to finish the game.
Czechia
#17 Filip Hronek, D (Vancouver Canucks): Hronek felt like Czechia’s top play driver almost every single night, which was partly why the team is out early. He was easily the team’s best player, game in and game out, but didn’t have much offense to work with. That meant he had to do much of the work to create scoring chances, and I thought he did a great job overall. Today, that blast gave his team some life, but it wasn’t enough in the end.
Finland
#13 Jesse Puljujarvi, RW: Another excellent game from Puljujarvi. The big winger made an excellent pass on the first Finnish goal, which wasn’t surprising given how often he was making quick heads-up decisions in the attacking zone at this tournament. There will be continued talk about whether Puljujarvi has proven he’s capable of playing in the NHL again, but I have really enjoyed how impactful he has been at this tournament at both ends of the ice. Puljujarvi looks motivated to prove people wrong.
#65 Sakari Manninen, LW: Manninen had a goal and an assist in this one. He’s an energy forward who crashes and bangs all over the ice, so you better keep your head up when he’s around. He’s more of a secondary producer at this tournament but we’ve talked about him a few times over the past few weeks thanks to his strong two-way play.
#92 Lenni Hämeenaho, RW (New Jersey Devils): With a goal and an assist in this one, Hämeenaho meant business today. The 21-year-old has been better as a playmaker today, but he had to feel good after scoring his first goal in five games. He has been more of a middle-six forward but it feels like his ability to drive the play up the ice has been a big reason for Finland’s success.
#94 Konsta Helenius, RW (Buffalo Sabres): Finland nearly posted a perfect record in the round robin. A big reason for that was that Heleneus really added a different element to the lineup, thanks to instant chemistry with Barkov. Helenius scored his first goal of the tournament today after breaking away from two Czech defenders to get himself in front of the net for the pass. He’s such a smart forward who plays a reliable two-way game, and I absolutely would love to see him elevated in Buffalo next year.
Latvia 0, Norway 2
Norway has moved on to the semifinal for the first time in tournament history after a 2-0 shutout victory over Latvia.
The win guarantees Norway will have its best finish ever, regardless of the final result.
Tinus Luc Koblar scored the lone 5-on-5 goal for Norway, doing so in the second period. Noah Steen had the other goal, while goaltender Henrik Haukeland saved all 34 shots sent his way.
Latvia
#3 Alberts Smits, D (2026 NHL Draft): This was Smits’ best game. He had some excellent defensive reads, which led the Latvian coaching staff to put him on the ice frequently in the third period to try to get Latvia on the board. He’s a big-bodied defender who might lack some of the higher-end offensive traits that a few other defenders in the 2026 NHL Draft class have. But as a smart, strong defenseman, Smits excels.
#50 Kristers Gudlevskis, G: Gudlevskis wasn’t rewarded with a victory in the end, but he finished the tournament as one of the best goalies, no question about it. He’s a quick netminder who doesn’t give shooters much to work with and allows very few poor goals all tournament long. There wasn’t much he could have done on the Norwegian goal. Overall, it felt like he showed up in a big way every single night and gave his team a chance to win, even when the offense ran dry.
Norway
#40 Henrik Haukeland, G: Leonardo Genoni might have an argument for the top goalie award, but Haukeland is absolutely in the conversation. Even as the game got into the later stages, Haukeland was up for the task. His feet are incredibly quick, allowing him to get post-to-post with ease. He also does a good job of deflecting shots out of danger and preventing quality rebound chances. This was his best game yet.
#44 Tinus Luc Koblar, C (Toronto Maple Leafs): Every time Norway has needed a big goal, Koblar has found a way to make it happen. There hasn’t been a better forward at this tournament in terms of getting into the right spot at the right time. He doesn’t typically score with a big shot or a crazy play. Instead, he’s looking to tip shots in or get rebounds and do the dirty work to make goals happen. This has been a fantastic tournament for him, and it’s great to see him reaping the rewards.
Sweden, Switzerland
Switzerland avoided disaster on home ice and beat Sweden 3-1 in the quarterfinal to advance to the medal round.
This one was especially important for Switzerland. Sweden beat Switzerland for gold in 2013 and 2018, with the 2013 edition coming on Swedish ice. So winning today against the team that had given them so many fits in playoff games had to feel good – especially on Swiss ice.
The Swedes scored first, with Linus Karlsson beating Leonardo Genoni. Sweden then scored a few minutes left, but the play was reviewed, and it was determined that the puck was deflected in because of a distinct kicking motion. That seemed to spark the Swiss, who got goals from Roman Josi, Calvin Thürkauf and Denis Malgin to seal the deal for the home team.
Sweden
#23 Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D (Toronto Maple Leafs): OEL had an assist on the opening goal and then was tasked with shutting down Switzerland’s top players the rest of the night. It felt like he was one of the few Swedish defenders who didn’t struggle in his own zone. The veteran defender was consistently Sweden’s best blueliner at this tournament, but the bar wasn’t that high given how slow the rest of the group seemed to be.
#13 Lucas Raymond, RW (Detroit Red Wings): Raymond seemingly had the puck 95 percent of the time he was on the ice. That was especially true near the end of the game as the Swedes got desperate in an attempt to force a comeback. Raymond was so steady all tournament long and was Sweden’s MVP – it’s too bad it didn’t result in anything better, though.
Switzerland
#86 JJ Moser, D (Tampa Bay Lightning): Moser had to take on some extra responsibility once Dean Kukan got himself ejected in the first period – and he delivered. He had an assist on the second Swiss goal and then broke up a ton of quality plays at the other end. Given the season he had, he’d be one of the top defensemen of most teams in this tournament. It’s hard to take the mantle away from Josi, but Moser has been a nightmare for just about everyone else.
#90 Roman Josi, D (Nashville Predators): The Predators defenseman deserves some serious love as tournament MVP. He scored a goal and added two assists today, and it felt like he couldn’t do anything wrong with the puck. He’s a big-bodied defender who makes a ton of smart decisions at both ends, and the numbers have been fantastic from the get-go. If he doesn’t get MVP, he should at least get top defenseman honors.
#79 Calvin Thurkauf, RW: It’s funny how often the Swiss have scored this year and you can see Thurkauf either setting it up or getting in the way of the goalie. He’s just so effective at disturbing sightlines and distracting opponents. He helped create a screen on the 1-1 goal and then scored the 3-1 goal for good measure. He’s aggressive – taking a pair of penalties – but he plays with a level of passion coaches tend to love.