2026 IIHF World Championship: Leonard, Brandsegg-Nygard highlight top standouts from Day 11
The penultimate day of round-robin play at the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship saw heartbreak, excitement and a bit of everything in between.
Norway started the day with a big 4-1 victory over Czechia, moving them into second in Group B. The United States were able to avoid a late-game push from Hungary, with Matthew Tkachuk, Tommy Novak and Ryan Leonard leading the way offensively. Germany, meanwhile, beat Great Britain 6-3 to finish their respective round-robin efforts.
The most important game of the day, though, was Slovenia vs. Italy. The plan was simple: Slovenia needed the game to get to overtime, and then they’d avoid relegation. Italy had to win in 60 minutes, or they’d get sent down. Italy scored first, but Slovenia dominated the second half to secure a big victory.
Here’s a look at the standings heading into the 12th and final day of round-robin action:
| # | 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 | Germany | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 4 | Austria | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 5 | Latvia | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 6 | USA | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 7 | Hungary | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 8 | Great Britain | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| # | GROUP B | GP | W | WO | LO | L | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | Norway | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| 3 | Czech Republic | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | Slovakia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 5 | Sweden | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 6 | Slovenia | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | Denmark | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 8 | Italy | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Czechia 1, Norway 4
Norway has clinched a spot in the quarterfinal for the first time since 2012 after beating Czechia 4-1.
Norway has moved into second place in Group B, overtaking the Czechs based off the head-to-head tiebreaker. Norway will play Denmark on Tuesday to finish off the round robin, while Czechia will look to bounce back against Canada.
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard led the way with a pair of goals, including the 2-0 goal on his first shot of the game. Harvard Ostrem Salsten and Martin Ronnild had the other goals for Norway, while Jaroslav Chmelar had the lone goal for the Czechs.
Czechia
#26 Jiří Ticháček, D: Ticháček received some love from NHL scouts back in 2021 for his great mobility and the ability to get himself out of danger. He ultimately wasn’t drafted, but has gone on to be quite productive in Europe the past few years. He had five shots in this one, which basically saw him try and carry the pace of play from the point. The undersized defender ultimately didn’t score, but he was the most noticeable blueliner they had in easily his best game of the tournament.
#23 Lukas Sedlak, C: The former NHLer was Czechia’s best forward today. He didn’t score, or even register a point. But he had a couple of decent looks throughout the game and was Czechia’s best two-way center. I thought he did a good job of keeping Norway occupied while they were in the attacking zone,
Norway
#40 Henrik Haukeland, G: I don’t get to vote for any of the awards. But if I did, I’d vote for Haukeland. He has been outdueled just about every goalie so far, including today. They knew this game was going to be tight, but he killed a few penalties, deflected pucks out of danger and gave the Czechs little to shoot at. The 2-1 goal was a nice one – Haukeland couldn’t have done much there.
#20 Emilio Pettersen, LW: As the 13th forward, EP didn’t play a single shift in the opening 40 minutes. But he brought the energy in the third, assisting on the 3-1 goal and then nearly scoring himself a few minutes later. His emergence at the end ultimately sealed the deal, as he seemingly couldn’t get stopped by the Czechs, no matter what they tried. Maybe it’s worth saving some legs for the end in a tight game.
#28 Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW (Detroit Red Wings): The Norwegians had already proven they could score, but adding MBN – who spent time in the NHL this year – was a huge get. He scored on his first shot of the game and then showed no signs of wear and tear after flying over from Grand Rapids a few days ago. That second goal at 54:17 helped make sure that the Czechs wouldn’t be able to battle back at the end. The strong, two-way forward is easily one of the best players to come out of Norway in recent memory, and he proved that with his two-way game and his excellent release.
Hungary 3, USA 7
The United States’ power play came up huge in a 7-3 victory over Hungary on Monday.
With the win, the United States still have a chance to claim one of the final two playoff spots in Group A. Germany moved into third place with 10 points, while the United States (eight) still trail Austria and Latvia (nine apiece) in sixth place.
The Americans scored three goals on the man advantage, which proved important given the Hungarians actually edged the United States 3-2 at 5-on-5. Justin Faulk, Ryan Leonard and Matthew Tkachuk each scored a pair of goals today, with Max Plante finishing the night with his first of the tournament with less than 30 seconds to go.
Hungary was outshot 48-17, but managed two goals from Csanad Erdely and one from Gabor Tornyai. At one point, the game was 5-3, but the Americans cleaned up their own zone play late to finish on the right foot.
Hungary
#30 Adam Vay, G: The game ultimately fell apart, as expected. But Vay made 19 stops in the first period to keep the game somewhat close at 2-0. He had to deal with a boatload of screens and levels of traffic, but he didn’t struggle with finding the puck. Vay couldn’t have done much more in this one – the Hungarian attackers left a lot to be desired in front of him, but he always had his team’s back.
#36 Csanad Erdely, LW: Erdely had a pair of goals today in his best showing of the tournament. He plays a hard-hitting, crash-and-bang style and shows no fear, no matter who he goes up against. That led to a nice deflection on the second goal, which brought Hungary back into this one. The 30-year-old Hungarian captain is the team’s best all-around player, but these goals were his first in top-level World Championship competition after 25 games.
USA
#72 Justin Faulk, D (Detroit Red Wings): Faulk doesn’t let out smiles too often – but he had a couple of reasons to flash his excitement today. He scored a pair of goals and added an assist on the 5-1 goal to help put the game to rest. Faulk had been more of steady defensive defender at this tournament leading up to today, but it was nice to see him quarterback the power play with such efficiency today.
#9 Ryan Leonard, RW (Washington Capitals): Leonard has been a chance-generation machine. Leonard had three shots in the opening period alone, and while he didn’t score, he was in the perfect position to receive passes and to draw a Hungarian defender with him each time. Leonard has looked good for the most part of this tournament – he has really figured out how to use the bigger ice to his advantage.
#15 Tommy Novak, C (Nashville Predators): Previously featured on the USA’s top line, Novak made the most of his time on the fourth line today, instead. He registered a pair of assists in the first period, both coming after displaying high-end patience before finding the correct opening. Novak then added another two in the second period to make it four on the night. This was Novak’s most noticeable game of the tournament, between the smart passes in the attacking zone and the seemingly relentless energy, too.
#19 Matthew Tkachuk, RW (Florida Panthers): Tkachuk meant business today. He had two goals and two assists, including the empty-netter to stop the bleeding near the end of the third. He also won just about every battle in the attacking zone and did a good job of stealing pucks and forcing the attention back the other way. Tkachuk has given USA so much more firepower over the past few games – he has been USA’s top player at this tournament, for sure.
#27 Matt Coronato, C (Calgary Flames): It’s still weird seeing Coronato at center. But he was excellent today, doing most of the dirty work to clear shooting lanes for his linemates. I liked Coronato in front of the net, but he also called for a few passes that were never going to him, only to confuse the Hungarian defenders and allow one of his teammates the opportunity to shoot the puck. This was my favorite game out of Coronato, who finished with a secondary assist on the 2-0 goal.
Germany 6, Great Britain 3
Germany has moved into third place in Group A following a big 6-3 win over Great Britain.
GB had already been relegated for 2027, but they wanted to go out on a high note after the previously announced retirements of Robert Dowd and Ben Bowns.
Germany has completed its round-robin action, registering 10 points in seven games. They’ll await their fate on Tuesday, with Austria (nine points), Latvia (nine) and USA (eight) all fighting to get into the playoff spot.
Alexander Karachun, Frederik Tiffels and Fabio Wagner each scored to make it 3-0 in the first period. Andreas Eder had the 4-0 goal in the second period, which proved to be the game-winning goal. Robert Dowd, Ollie Betteridge, and Robert Lachowicz all scored for GB to give them some life, but Josh Samanski and Leon Gawanke each scored in the third period to negate any late-game comeback efforts.
Germany
#9 Leon Gawanke, D: After scoring a hat-trick earlier in the tournament, Gawanke completed the round robin with a goal and an assist. I love his shot, and he doesn’t seem to care if there’s traffic or not. Gawanke never made it work in the NHL, but he has built a solid career in the DEL, and this, by all accounts, has been his best international tournament to date.
#53 Moritz Seider, D (Detroit Red Wings): Another game, another appearance by Seider on this list. The highly talented Red Wings defenseman had the primary assist on both the first and the third German goals, and then prevented the British attackers from getting close to the German net. I have said this before, and I will say it again: I totally believe he should have been a finalist for the Norris Trophy.
#47 Alexander Karachun, RW: What a tournament debut. Karachun played his lone game of the round robin today, and registered a goal and an assist. He had three points in five games back in 2022, the last time he represented Germany. Karachun is known more for his size and physicality, but he has been a solid producer for over half a decade in the German DEL. He brought a lot to the table on the fourth line today.
#95 Frederik Tiffels, RW: Tiffels scored the 2-0 goal after intercepting a pass attempt from a British forward, and then assisted the 5-1 goal for good measure. Tiffels is Germany’s most skilled forward, and has proven he can be a leader on this team when Tim Stutzle and Leon Draisaitl aren’t available.
Great Britain
#14 Liam Kirk, C: We’ve included Kirk in nearly every single one of these, and for good reason. Poor first-period giveaway aside, Kirk was the primary playdriver for GB for most of the night. The Brits don’t have much offense to work with, but Kirk’s blend of speed and skill is definitely miles ahead of most on this team. I don’t think an NHL team will take a chance on him anytime soon, but I’ve liked his play over the past two weeks.
#75 Robert Dowd, C: Not a bad final game for the captain. Dowd previously announced that he was going to retire from international hockey following today’s game, but not before his wrister beat Philipp Grubauer and got his team on the board. Dowd has been one of the best British forwards for about 15 years now, and while this tournament left a lot to be desired, Dowd at least went out on as high of a note as he could have asked for.
Italy 1, Slovenia 5
For the first time ever, Slovenia will play in the top division of the World Championship for the third straight year after beating Italy 5-1.
The Italians, meanwhile, will finish the tournament without a victory and will be relegated to Division IA for 2027.
Italy scored first, with Phil Pietroniro scoring at 22:34 to make it 1-0. But the Slovenians dominated the game the rest of the way, with Matic Torok answering back five minutes later before Jan Drozg tallied a pair of goals to close out the frame. Italy got desperate in the third, but goals from Marcel Mahkovec and Zan Jezovsek prevented any chance of an Italian comeback.
Italy
#20 Damian Clara, G (Anaheim Ducks): The Slovenians heavily outplayed Italy in this one, and while Clara allowed three goals in the second, I’d say he was the only reason the score wasn’t more lopsided. He made some huge stops in this one, using his big frame to take up as much space as possible.
Slovenia
#15 Blaz Gregorc, D: Another solid effort from Gregorc. He ate a lot of minutes and never looked defensively overwhelmed, consistently winning his individual battles. He doesn’t do a ton with the puck, but he does a decent job of getting the disc out of his own zone and out of danger.
#8 Marcel Mahkovec, LW: With a goal and three assists in this one, Mahkovec had the game of his life. It just felt like any time Slovenia had a dangerous chance, he was a big reason for it. Whether it was driving the play or coming in as a support player and finishing things off, Mahkovec was as involved as anybody on the Slovenian attack today.
#21 Jan Drozg, RW: Drozg has one of the best shots in Slovenia, and he let it go twice in the second period to win the game for Slovenia. He plays a heavy game, and while many other teams could handle him, Italy could not. He always tends to show up big internationally, and today was one of his better games, coming at an important time as Slovenia avoided relegation.
#46 Matic Torok, C: I love how Torok continuously opens up lanes for his teammates by skating through the middle of the ice and taking defenders with him. He doesn’t play with an edge or do anything too aggressive, but he’s smart and knows how to draw opponents to him and create opportunities for everyone else. That was very important today as he finished with…