2024 IIHF World Championship Roundup: Standouts from Day 8

Cole Caufield and Brady Tkachuk Team USA

Eight days are in the books, and we’re starting to get a clearer look at the pending playoff picture.

The early games were definitely mixed. Denmark edged Great Britain 4-3 in one of the most exciting games in Group A play, with the Danes getting the valuable three points. Germany, meanwhile, beat Kazakhstan 8-2 in a one-sided contest.

In the afternoon games, both were relatively close. USA beat Poland 4-1, but it was scoreless for about half the bout. Czechia wowed the hometown fans with a 4-0 win over Austria, a game that also stayed close for a significant portion.

With Czechia’s victory, they have taken top spot in Group A with 12 points, one ahead of both Canada and Switzerland. Great Britain remains in a difficult spot with zero points and will need to steal something from Czechia on Saturday or Norway on Monday to avoid relegation.

In Group B, Sweden still holds top spot with 12 points, but USA is two points behind with 10. Poland, meanwhile, will need to play some must-win hockey to avoid relegation after sitting with just one point in five games, two behind Kazakhstan in seventh.

Here’s a look at the top players from Friday’s action before we see a 10-game slate over the next two days:

USA

#7 Brady Tkachuk, LW (Ottawa Senators): I loved Tkachuk’s game even before he scored the 2-0 goal. He was extremely aggressive as usual, not letting any Polish player off the hook just like in the NHL. Tkachuk made some great plays at both ends, and the goal was definitely one of the more unique ones you’ll see as his body crossed the line before the puck did. He also set up three other goals in an excellent showing from the American captain.

#22 Cole Caufield, RW (Montreal Canadiens): Finally, it took a while, but Caufield managed to score his first goal of the tournament. And it was a nice one too, working hard to get into a good spot to finish off a great pass from Tkachuk. Caufield capped off the day with a second goal, marking the end of the best game of his tournament so far.

#43 Luke Hughes, D (New Jersey Devils): One thing I noticed is that it looked like Hughes never lost battles in his own zone. He made himself so difficult to play against, and while he was quiet offensively, he made some excellent plays in his own zone to keep Poland away from Trey Augustine. Hughes has been quite impressive this year in his second tournament appearance.

Poland

#31 John Murray, G: This game meant something special to Murray, who was born in Pennsylvania. He made 35 saves through the first two periods in a game that was lopsided almost from the get-go. Poland knew their only chance was to pepper USA early, but after the 10-minute mark, that’s when USA’s legs took over. So it’s a good thing Murray played as good as possible, and now they’ll need him for the big one against Kazakhstan on Monday.

#15 Patryk Wronka, LW: Wronka scored early but was taken away because it was offside. He had a couple of other good plays, but it was clear he was the primary offensive driver on the first line today. It didn’t matter in the final score but Wronka, standing small at 5-foot-8, was important today.

Czechia

#73 David Kase, RW: That was a nice move on the penalty shot to open the scoring. And in a game like that, where the crowd is antsy for a goal, but they’re playing against a team that just came off a historic win, Czechia needed that. Kase continues to be a big scoring threat for his team but he’s also a strong passer, too, and that was on display today.

#81 Dominik Kubalik, RW (Ottawa Senators): Kubalik looked good today with a goal and an assist. Like Caufield on the Americans, Czechia needs more games like this from Kubalik and he was delivered. His chemistry with Tomasek was impressive.

#96 David Tomasek, C: Tomasek finally got his first goal of the tournament and nabbed an assist along the way. He’s good around the net, but he also showed why he scored so often in the Swedish league this year. Tomasek seems to just do a lot of good in the offensive zone and it finally paid off.

#34 Petr Mrazek, G (Chicago Blackhawks): It’s not easy to sit for a while before getting back into game action but Mrazek was good today. Austria played a solid first half but Mrazek held his own in an effort to keep his team in it. The fact the Czechs have been able to rely on their goaltender like they have early in this tournament is good news come playoff time.

Austria

#31 David Madlener, G: The game started to fall apart for the Austrians, but I thought Madlener played fine. He allowed two goals on the power play, one on a penalty shot and one on a blister of a one-timer. There wasn’t much more he could have done on those, and you can’t win when your team doesn’t score, right?

Great Britain

#14 Liam Kirk, LW: After registering two points against Canada, Kirk had a few off games before opening the scoring at 5:25 today. He used his speed and skill to beat out two Danish players before converting on the wraparound, giving his team some early life. He then helped lead the late-game charge but couldn’t make it work, but he was still noticeable.

#9 Brett Perlini, C: Perlini had an assist, but he also had two excellent chances late in the game as GB tried to tie the game up. I think this was his most effective game, generating chances from just about everywhere in an attempt to get his team back in it.

Denmark

#29 Mikkel Aagaard, LW: It’s hard to beat a two-goal game. Aagaard was money around the net, basically tapping in two shots after catching Jackson Whistle off guard. Aagaard has quick hands, which helps in tighter situations, but he’s also physically strong enough to win these battles around the crease. He and Molgaard got along very well today.

#12 Oscar Fisker Molgaard, C (Seattle Kraken): The 2023 draft pick had a game to remember, registering two assists on impressive plays. None were better than his first one, where he made a great spin deke to open space for Aagaard’s first goal of the day. Molgaard has been one of the better prospects at this tournament, seemingly getting better every single game.

#65 Christian Wejse, C: Wejse’s excellent net-front presence paid off with the game-winning goal late in the third period. He just keeps thriving on the man advantage, which included him getting a secondary assist on the 2-1 go-ahead goal in the first period. Donning a cage, Wejse has six points in five games to crush his previous combined total of three from the past two years.

#80 Frederik Dichow, G: It wasn’t Dichow’s busiest game, but it was one of his most important ones. He stopped 28 of 31 shots, but his massive blocker save in the dying minutes helped take the steam out of GB’s sails. Dichow was dialed in in the final few minutes as the Brits sent everything possible at the net, and that’ll keep Denmark in the playoff discussion with time ticking down.

Germany

#27 Maksymilian Szuber, D (Utah): Szuber has gotten better as the tournament has worn on and he scored early to make it 1-0. The Tuscon Roadrunners defenseman has played often for this team this year as they look to use his speed and physicality to outmatch opponents at an event like this. This was his best game in my opinion.

#33 JJ Peterka, LW (Buffalo Sabres): Peterka scored a goal and four points to earn best play honors, and it was well-deserved. He’s starting to find his footing and play a more effective, dominant game against opponents you’d hope Peterka to shine in. You can still see him getting frustrated out there, a bit more than I remember seeing from him in the past, but he’s finally channeling that into production.

#73 Lukas Reichel, RW (Chicago Blackhawks): Reichel had a pair of goals as he’s fully immersed in this team now. He was one of the last players registered but he’s playing confident on a team that needs it from him. Reichel has given the Germans another high-end offensive threat alongside Peterka.

#19 Wojciech Stachowiak, C: He doesn’t have the star power as his two linemates, but Stachowiak was rocking with a four-assist effort today. It was the best performance of his short international career, giving him five points through five games as Germany’s No. 1 center. He’s had a few other good looks but today it just seemed like everything he and his line just worked out.

Kazakhstan

#10 Roman Starchenko, C: It was a rough day for the Kazakhs, but Starchenko’s goal gave them hope after a brutal first few minutes. He was given best player honors partly because of the goal, but also for his forechecking in a game where Kazakhstan was clearly tired after a spirited tilt against Sweden on Thursday.

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