2025 IIHF World Championship: MacKinnon, Zibanejad highlight top standouts from Day 2
All 16 teams have now played a game to kick off the 2025 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Denmark and Sweden.
It was the first six-game day of the tournament, with Canada, Sweden, Latvia, Germany, Kazakhstan and Switzerland taking victories on the first of four busy days the tournament has to offer.
Canada was dangerous on the power play, scoring three of their four goals against Slovenia with the man advantage. Nathan MacKinnon had a three-point night, including scoring the lone 5-on-5 goal in a 4-0 victory in Stockholm. Over in Denmark, it was a much closer game between two teams that’ll be chasing one of the final playoff spots in Group B, with Kazakhstan scoring twice on the power play to beat Norway 2-1 off the heels of a big performance from Kazakhstan goaltender Maxim Pavlenko.
The afternoon games were a bit of a mixed bag. Germany had full control over Germany, winning the game 6-1 in Denmark. But in Sweden, the home needed a three-goal late-game effort to overcome an Austrian attack that outperformed them, with Sweden eventually winning 4-2.
The late games were both tight affairs. Switzerland started strong before eventually sacrificing the lead in the second period. They eventually came back, though, with Tyler Moy and Nico Hischier scoring twice each to help Switzerland beat Denmark 5-2. Latvia, meanwhile, gave up the first goal, but scored four unanswered, including two empty-netters from Dans Locmelis, to beat France 4-1.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Sunday’s six games:
Canada 4, Slovenia 0
Canada
#9 Nathan MacKinnon, C (Colorado Avalanche): MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, showing his MVP-like muscle in this one. He was especially dangerous on the man advantage, where he set up Bo Horvat for two goals from along the boards. MacKinnon is going to make teams look silly here – he’s just so far ahead of most players you’ll find at the World Championship in most years.
#14 Bo Horvat, LW (New York Islanders): It’s hard to beat a two-goal game. Both came on the power play, but he does an excellent job of getting into open space and getting a quick shot. Horvat showed instant chemistry with MacKinnon and made sure to keep Slovenia occupied in their own zone with his speed.
#52 MacKenzie Weegar, D (Calgary Flames): Weegar made plenty of heads-up passes today, highlighted by his feed on MacKinnon’s 2-0 goal. Weegar is one of Canada’s most prominent defenders, and someone with a real shot at making the Olympic team in a few months. His ability to make high-quality passes from anywhere makes him dangerous and he’s comfortable using the extra ice to his advantage.
Slovenia
#61 Lukas Horak, G: This was Horak’s first World Championship start, and he was thrust into action against Team Canada. That’s difficult for anyone, but he stood tall, allowing just one goal at 5-on-5 and turning away 40 shots total. The 31-year-old has spent the past two years playing in the ICEHL, which isn’t a high-end league. So this was easily the toughest competition Horak has ever had to deal with and he was easily Slovenia’s best player.
Kazakhstan 2, Norway 1
Kazakhstan
#20 Maxim Pavlenko, G: Pavlenko didn’t play a lot of hockey this year, playing just seven in the Russian second-tier league and a few national games with Kazakhstan along the way. Like Kazakhstan’s other two goalies, Pavlenko had never played in this tournament before. But the 22-year-old looked so sharp, turning away 30 shots. It wasn’t a massive workload, but Norway kept peppering him with high-quality chances and he never seemed to back down. Securing those three points today could cement him as the team’s starter moving forward.
Norway
#72 Stian Solberg, D (Anaheim Ducks): Solberg didn’t register a point, but he still had a fantastic game. He had seven of Norway’s 31 shots and played a whopping 29:04. Seriously, the 19-year-old was everywhere today, giving Norway everything he had to possibly help them win. Drafted as more of a defensive defender, Solberg became a lot more comfortable moving the puck this year and should be leaned on at both ends of the ice at this tournament. Today was just the first step in showing that.
Austria 2, Sweden 4
Austria
#30 David Kickert, G: Kickert made 21 saves today, including during the second to help keep the game close. His ability to be a rock in Austria’s net has proven important in recent years, and he was so close to sealing the biggest win of his career. Kickert outdueled Samuel Ersson today, no question about it. Kickert will be busier as the tournament goes on but he gave Austria a serious chance at the victory before everything fell apart.
#96 Marco Kasper, C (Detroit Red Wings): That’s another great game for Kasper, who scored the 2-1 goal that gave Austria its second lead of the game. It wasn’t enough, but it came on the heels of a team-leading fourth shot today. Defensively, I liked how he got into scoring lanes and made it hard for the Swedes to make many passes in high-danger areas. That’s now two excellent games for a guy coming off an excellent rookie season.
Sweden
#23 Lucas Raymond, RW (Detroit Red Wings): Surprise! Raymond is good at hockey. He only has one point through two games, but he earned Best Player honors today for the way he drove the net, created plays and generally had the puck on his stick. Raymond had there shots and none in the third, but he was one of the few that seemed to break through Austria’s blueline wall they employed throughout the game.
#93 Mika Zibanejad, RW (New York Rangers): It’s hard to beat a two-goal game. He scored the 1-1 goal in the second period and then won the game at 57:53, pulling off a perfectly placed one-timer just seconds after a faceoff in the Austrian zone. is now up to three goals in two games as Sweden improves to 2-0 – and it wouldn’t have happened with No. 93’s production.
#28 Elias Lindholm, C (Boston Bruins): Lindholm had a 75 percent faceoff win percentage, the best of anyone in this game. It paid off on the play that eventually resulted in Jonas Brodin’s game-tying goal, and then he assisted Alex Wennberg’s empty-netter. Lindholm has looked great as a two-way threat, but he also has been consistently on the attack whenever Sweden has needed him to be over the past two games. After a difficult campaign for Lindholm, it’s been good to see him looking strong on home ice.
Germany 6, Hungary 1
Germany
#72 Dominik Kahun, LW: One of the few players on this German team with NHL experience, Kahun was Germany’s most important player today. He scored a pair of goals alongside linemates Wojciech Stachowiak and Justin Schutz, who each had two points themselves. Kahun has a great shot, something he displayed at a young age when he and Leon Draisaitl were tearing up scoring boards across Germany. He’s the team’s top trigger man and he showed that today.
#19 Wojciech Stachowiak, C: Stachowiak had a great game in open ice, helping set up both of Kahun’s goals. Both assists were secondary, but it came after some absolutely tremendous work to bring the puck into the zone. It was this tournament last year where we saw Stachowiak break out. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is someone who earns NHL interest in a year or two given how crucial he has been to Germany’s play internationally over the past three seasons.
#74 Justin Schutz, RW: This was easily Schutz’s biggest international game to date. He had a pair of primary assists on both of Kahun’s goals, putting him just one point behind his 10-game output in 2023 when Germany took home silver. Schutz is a smart player who spends a lot of time bringing the energy in both zones, so it was nice to see him rewarded with some offense today.
#73 Lukas Reichel, LW (Chicago Blackhawks): Reichel might ultimately not become the player the Hawks were hoping he’d be. But he’s always valuable internationally, having registered over a point per game in each of his past two appearances. He started off this event with a two-assist night and had four shots to boot, too. I’d like to see him pick his spots a bit better because he has a good shot, but doesn’t always give himself the best opportunity to score. At the very least, I loved how often he got the puck into scoring lanes as a setup man.
#44 Josh Samanski, C (Edmonton Oilers): The brand new Oiler had a goal and an assist, with his 2-0 goal serving as the game winner. He uses his size and physicality to win battles, and he works as hard as anyone along the boards. It’ll be interesting to see how much the former OHL player plays this coming season because he’s a true late-bloomer, but one who’ll work his tail off to get the puck whenever possible.
Hungary
#36 Csanad Erdely, LW: The 29-year-old is one of Hungary’s most important players, and he played like it today. He didn’t register a point today, but he led the way with five shots – all coming in the second period. Seriously, he was everywhere, and it was surprising that he couldn’t capitalize on any of them. Erdely has primarily played in the ICEHL throughout his career, but it seems like he always comes alive when he gets a chance to play for his country.
Denmark 2, Switzerland 5
Denmark
#12 Oscar Fisker Molgaard, C (Seattle Kraken): Molgaard had a breakthrough game, scoring the 2-1 goal and generally being a difficult player to contain. That’s because he battles hard and defends even harder. I love his shot and his work ethic – two things he punished Switzerland with today.
#32 Sebastian Dahm, G: So, things ultimately didn’t go Denmark’s way. But it could have easily gotten much worse early when Switzerland peppered him with 13 shots in the first period, with Denmark only getting two measly chances the other way. Goaltending has been Denmark’s strength early on – whether it be Freddy Dichow on Friday, or Dahm today. And that’s to be expected – they usually keep things close. Dahm was the better of the two goalies today.
Switzerland
#95 Tyler Moy, LW: With two goals and an assist, Moy was the biggest reason why the Swiss won this game. He moved the puck so well and used traffic in front to launch his powerful release. This was easily the most impressed I’ve been with Moy internationally – he was absolutely lethal in the O-zone.
#28 Timo Meier, RW (New Jersey Devils): What a surprise! The Devils winger likes to shine for Switzerland whenever he gets the chance to. His assist on the 3-2 goal was beautiful, and he also had a helper on the game-tying marker. Meier can be a bit all over the place in the NHL but you can always count on him to bring the heat internationally.
#13 Nico Hischier, C: That’s another good effort from Hischier, who took charge with the 1-0 goal. He then assisted on Moy’s first goal to make it 2-2, giving the Swiss some late second-period momentum and capped the night off with an empty-netter. Hischier is Switzerland’s most skilled forward and he’s had two excellent games to kick this event off.
France 1 Latvia 4
France
#78 Dylan Fabre, LW: Fabre scored the lone goal, but I also thought he was one of the few French players Latvia struggled to contain. He was moving, grooving and generating quality chances – both as a shooter and a passer.
Latvia
#50 Kristers Gudlevskis, G: The 2014 Olympic icon had the tougher shots to deal with tonight and looked great for the Latvians. He handled traffic well and did a great job of deflecting rebounds to the corner. In all, it was a solid performance.
#11 Dans Locmelis, C (Boston Bruins): Locmelis scored two empty-netters, which – fine, they are what they are. But he also was Latvia’s best two-way forward, playing some responsible two-way hockey, especially on the penalty killer. Locmelis is going to be an NHLer one day because he never gives up on a play, bringing a strong 200-foot game to every shift.
SPONSORED BY bet365