2024 IIHF World Championship Preview: Top 15 NHL players to watch

Credit: Victor Hedman, Connor Bedard and Juraj Slafkovsky

For the better part of the next three weeks, 16 of the top hockey nations will gather in Czechia to compete for the prestigious IIHF World Hockey Championship.

The average North American NHL fan might overlook the tournament, given it overlaps with the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s not a best-on-best competition, even if many European teams build toward this event all year long. But you can’t say it’s not fun with some of the most exciting competitions of the year, especially on the international stage.

It’s a tournament full of upsets and surprises. Canada won gold in 2023, with Germany and Latvia beating out the likes of Sweden and USA to get there. Even Canada lost to Norway, which almost found itself under threat of being relegated.

Yeah, teams like Poland and Great Britain might not sound like powerhouses, but no international tournament has as many upsets as this one. Sometimes, a group of NHLers can’t overpower the power of familiarity for some of the smaller teams.

With the NHL heading to the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, and the Winter Olympics in 2026, the World Championship is getting a higher surge of quality players looking to prove they’re worthy of a roster spot. Sweden, in particular, has an eye-popping four Norris Trophy winners combined. And that’s just scratching the surface, with a number of NHL stars vying for gold in Czechia.

The IIHF’s premier event will occur in Prague and Ostrava from May 10-26. Here’s a look at 15 of the top players you need to know:

Connor Bedard, C, Chicago Blackhawks (Canada)

After an excellent Calder-worthy rookie campaign, the first overall pick in 2023 is ready for his men’s national team debut. He looked good in the two exhibition games this week, and, of course, there’s that incredible national team resume of his. The U-18 World Championship gold in 2021, the two World Junior Championships, that record-breaking run last year… he’s just built to perform. There’s a very possible chance that Bedard wins tournament MVP honors, something Connor McDavid fell short of despite scoring the championship-winning goal in 2016. Don’t get used to this, Canadian fans – Bedard isn’t going to play in this tournament for too long.

Owen Power, D, Buffalo Sabres (Canada)

Power hasn’t played in many tournaments with Canada, but when he does, he delivers. He was one of Canada’s better blueliners in his draft year back in 2021 and played a big role on the Olympic team the following year. Power is a commanding presence on the ice and eats minutes for breakfast. Based on what we saw in the two exhibition games, Power is ready to take charge on a Canadian blueline ripe with opportunity. If Sabres fans have their way, this will be it for Power’s spring trips to Europe.

Brady Tkachuk, LW, Ottawa Senators (USA)

This is Tkachuk’s first World Championship, but if the exhibition game against Slovakia is any indication, he’s ready for the spotlight. One of the hardest-hitting point-producers in the NHL, Tkachuk had a personal best of 37 goals this year in his third season as Ottawa’s captain. Tkachuk won gold at the 2017 U-18 World Championship and won bronze with USA at the World Juniors the following year, but that’s it for the former USA Hockey National Team Development Program captain. Tkachuk’s appearance shows he means business – USA is one of the favorites to win, and No. 7’s coming to cause chaos.

Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets (USA)

Werenski was a bronze medalist with USA back at the 2016 World Junior Championship, and this will be his first full senior team run after getting into two games back in 2019. Injuries have plagued him the past few years, but he hit the 70-game mark for the first time since 2018-19 and had a career-best 57 points to show for it. The former USNTDP star was one of Columbus’ few bright spots this season, but this tournament will be a perfect opportunity to be a leader on an American team with high hopes.

Cole Caufield, LW, Montreal Canadiens (USA)

Caufield had a breakthrough season with Montreal, putting up a career-best 28 goals and 65 points while playing a full season for the first time in his young career. This will be his first time representing the Americans since the 2021 World Juniors, where his output was limited compared to the high expectations set upon him. This year, I expect him to be a big part of USA’s top six as they look to win gold for the first time since 1960.

Juraj Slafkovsky, RW, Montreal Canadiens (Slovakia)

The last time Slafkovsky represented the Slovaks, he was on top of the world. He had just won MVP honors at the Olympics and then went on to have more than a point per game as he helped the Slovaks reach the World Championship quarterfinal. Last year was a difficult run for the top pick from the 2022 NHL Draft, making many wonder if the Habs made the wrong choice. But after a 50-point sophomore campaign, Slafkovsky is back on top of the world and ready to help lead the Slovaks back to the playoffs. He finished the NHL season off strong with nine points in his final 10 games and had a beautiful goal in the exhibition game against USA on Tuesday. Look for Slaf to be one of Slovakia’s top players at this event once again.

Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning (Sweden)

It’s crazy that Hedman can put up one of the best outputs of his career with 63 assists and 76 points and not really be in the Norris Trophy consideration. It’s also rare that he’s been in a spot to participate in the Worlds, given Tampa Bay’s success over the past decade. This is Hedman’s first appearance for the Swedes since helping them win bronze back in 2017. With Dahlin and Karlsson by his side, he’s going to rip opponents apart on the deepest blueline of any team heading to Czechia.

Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres (Sweden)

A 20-goal scorer for the first time in his career, Dahlin is set for his second World Championship performance after looking great in 2022. He had two assists against Finland in the final Euro Hockey Tour game last weekend, his first game action in weeks. He showed he can still eat minutes and move the puck as well as he did with the Sabres this year. It’s been a while since Dahlin has been a consistent fixture with the Swedes in international competition, but his presence makes this group so much more dangerous.

Erik Karlsson, D, Pittsburgh Penguins (Sweden)

Not many defensemen will see their production get cut by nearly 50 points while still playing a full 82-game season. But that’s just a testament to how good Karlsson was en route to a Norris Trophy in 2022-23 in his final year in San Jose. He still had 56 points this year while playing a big role for a Penguins team that fell short of expectations again this year. Karlsson hasn’t played in a World Championship since 2012, but he has historically been incredible for the Swedes as a primary scoring threat from that point of view. If he can replicate his Olympic performance from 2014, Sweden’s going to be so difficult to beat.

Joel Eriksson Ek, C, Minnesota Wild (Sweden)

It’s been a long time since Eriksson Ek wore yellow and blue on the international stage – 2017, to be exact. Eriksson Ek has come a long way since then, and he’s fresh off career bests of 30 goals and 64 points in 77 games with the Wild this year. He was quiet in the two Euro Hockey Tour games earlier in the month, but with a lineup that includes some of the best puck-moving defenders in the league, JEE looks to be in good shape for the real event.

Lucas Raymond, RW, Detroit Red Wings (Sweden)

After a step back in his sophomore season last year, it felt like his point-per-game run at the World Championship last spring helped set him up for a more confident third season with the Red Wings. Raymond had 31 goals and 72 points, crushing his previous bests as he showed he can be a legitimate star for the rebuilding franchise. Detroit doesn’t have a ton of high-end forwards at this tournament, but Raymond always shows up when he dons the Tre Kronor.

Nico Hischier, C, New Jersey Devils (Switzerland)

It was another good year for Hischier, who would have had 70-plus points for the second year in a row had he stayed healthy for the whole year. He’s always one of Switzerland’s best players internationally, having represented the team at the World Championship in all but two years of his seven-year pro career. He’s dedicated to helping the Swiss go the distance, with the defensive forward joining late to help for the playoff push last year. If Hischier’s thriving, the Swiss are typically in a good spot.

Roman Josi, D, Nashville Predators (Switzerland)

When countryman Pius Suter eliminated the Nashville Predators in Game 6, Swiss fans knew it was only a matter of time until Josi was heading over for the first time since 2019. The perennial Norris Trophy threat led all NHL defenders with 23 goals and finished with 85 points, the second best total of his illustrious career. Internationally, Josi has 33 points in 54 games over eight World Championship appearances, winning MVP back in 2013 in his first of two silver medals with his country. Look for Josi to be among the best players again as Switzerland looks to bounce back after an early playoff exit last year – a disappointing result given they went 6-0-1 during the round-robin.

Marco Rossi, C, Minnesota Wild (Austria)

With Austria, there’s always the potential for them to be in the relegation conversation. Can Rossi change that? He was excellent last year at a time when he was still trying to prove he was a long-term threat for the Wild. Now after putting up 21 goals and 40 points as a rookie this year, there will be even more attention on Rossi to step up. No other active NHLers are on the roster, but Austria’s core doesn’t change much from year to year. There’s a level of familiarity that helps, but Rossi will need to take center stage and lead Austria in games against teams like Norway and Denmark if they’re going to have a chance.

JJ Peterka, LW, Buffalo Sabres (Germany)

Peterka was one of the biggest reasons why Germany advanced to the championship game last year and nearly took home tournament MVP honors with 12 points in 10 games. He did, however, take the best forward award, a sign of big things to come. Peterka had 50 points for the first time in his career this year, including 28 goals. With no Tim Stutzle, the Sabres will be relying heavily on Peterka to step up huge, especially in a stronger tournament crop this year compared to 2023. Nobody picked Germany to come close to battling for a medal last year, but with an even better Peterka now, can they do it again?

Other notables: Jordan Binnington, G, St. Louis Blues (Canada), Andrew Mangiapane, LW, Calgary Flames (Canada), Matt Boldy, LW, Minnesota Wild (USA), Alex Lyon, G, Detroit Red Wings (USA), Jonas Siegenthaler, D, New Jersey Devils (Switzerland)

Here’s a look at how the two groups stack up:

Group A	Group B
Austria	France
Canada	Germany
Czechia	Kazakhstan
Denmark	Latvia
Finland	Poland
Great Britain	Slovakia
Norway	Sweden
Switzerland	USA

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