The Ice Hockey World Championship that has started in Switzerland inevitably remains overshadowed by the recent Olympics in Italy, which was the main international competition of the season. However, world stars have still come to it.
We tell you about such players.
D. Roman Josi, Switzerland
The captain of the Swiss national team will be cementing his team's defense, which is expected to bring home the long-awaited gold. Josi is one of the leaders of the Nashville Predators and the first Swiss player to win the Norris Trophy (awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL). In 2021, Roman surpassed Mark Streit and became the highest-scoring Swiss hockey player to have ever played overseas.
Josi is one of the best defensemen of his generation, but he has yet to achieve victory at either the club or national level. He reached the Stanley Cup Finals once with Nashville, where the Predators lost to Pittsburgh. With the national team, he has won silver at the World Championships three times and was named the tournament's most valuable player, but he has not yet secured a gold medal. The home World Championship could very well change that. We will be watching Josi today in the match against Latvia.
C. Aleksander Barkov, Finland
The center forward of the Florida Panthers missed the entire season due to a severe knee injury. The 30-year-old Barkov did not play a single game in the regular season but managed to recover in time for the playoffs, which his Panthers did not qualify for. The World Championship is an opportunity for Aleksander not just to extend but to start his season.
Florida did not prevent its captain from playing for the national team. It will not be easy for Barkov to regain optimal form, but the three-time winner of the award for best two-way forward will surely improve during the tournament and unite the Finnish team around him.
D. Evan Bouchard, Canada
The defenseman from Edmonton is not as well-known to the general fanbase, but Bouchard has every chance to make a name for himself. In the recent regular season, he scored an incredible 95 points (21+74) and performed well in the playoffs, exceeding a point-per-game pace (one goal and six assists in six games).
The 26-year-old Bouchard has no trophies at the adult level yet, but he has won gold at the World Junior Championship and received the award for best defenseman in the Ontario Hockey League.
C. Sidney Crosby, Canada
The legendary center forward of the Pittsburgh Penguins has given the green light to join the national team after the Penguins were eliminated from the playoffs. Crosby has a full collection of trophies — he is a member of the Triple Gold Club, having won the Stanley Cup, the Olympics, and the World Championship. The World Championship gold was the last to elude him — Crosby only became its holder in 2015.
Last season, Sidney also joined the national team for the World Championship, where he performed quite well. Crosby scored 12 points (4+8) in eight games, finishing just one point behind Nathan MacKinnon, but Canada did not reach the medals, losing in the quarterfinals. The upcoming season could be the forward's last in the NHL, so Crosby decided not to miss the chance to compete for gold again with the Canadian team.
C. Lucas Raymond, Sweden
At 24 years old, Raymond is one of the key players on the Swedish national team. The forward has been playing for Detroit for five seasons and has been quite productive: a year ago, he set a personal record with 80 points, and this year he just fell short of matching it (76).
Raymond performed well at the Olympics in Milan, where he scored 9 points (1+8) in five games and became the tournament's third-highest scorer after Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini. However, the forward also made a memorable costly penalty in the Olympic tournament match against Slovakia, which allowed the opponent to score and change the standings in the group. Despite winning (5:3), the Swedes lost the group lead to Slovakia and faced Team USA in the playoffs, which went on to become champions.
C. Macklin Celebrini, Canada
The 19-year-old prodigy from San Jose is having an incredible season. In the NHL, he scored 115 points and became the fourth-highest scorer in the regular season, trailing only superstars — McDavid (138), Kucherov (130), and MacKinnon (127).
At the Olympics in Italy, Celebrini scored 10 points (5+5) in six games and was the team's top scorer, which won silver medals. It is no surprise that Macklin was entrusted with the captain's patch for the national team at the World Championship, even though the team includes experienced players like John Tavares, Ryan O'Reilly, and Sidney Crosby himself. Celebrini clearly has not played enough, as San Jose is still far from making the playoffs and is making the most of the opportunity to extend the season.
C. Matthew Tkachuk, USA
The Americans became Olympic champions in Milan and subsequently lost interest in international hockey — the main tournament has already been won. However, forward Matthew Tkachuk arrived in Switzerland, being the only holder of the Olympic gold from the 2026 team at the World Championship.
Tkachuk's NHL season was marred by injury, limiting him to just 31 games (34 points). He has never played at the World Championships, so this experience will be new for him. At the Olympics, he scored 6 points (0+6) in six games and received 12 minutes in penalties, maintaining his signature gritty style.
