6 players to watch at the 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
The 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship is set to feature several skilled players, and today, we outline the six players to watch at this upcoming international tournament.
6 players to watch at the 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The IIHF World Championship is always an interesting tournament.
It’s not a best-on-best tournament like the Olympics or the World Cup of Hockey is, so there’s an assortment of players to make up each team’s roster. For example, Team USA, last year’s champion, doesn’t have many star players, aside from Matthew Tkachuk. Instead, they’ve loaded up with several young players, including James Hagens, Ryan Leonard, Isaac Howard, and several others.
It’s a fun mix of players that makes for an unpredictable tournament. In this unpredictable competition, there are a few names to look out for. Here are six players to watch at the 2026 World Championship.
Macklin Celebrini, C, Team Canada It won’t have to take much convincing for someone to tune in to watch Macklin Celebrini. He had an incredible season with the San Jose Sharks in the NHL and elevated his game with Team Canada at the Olympics. Finishing the 2025-26 season with 115 points and finishing second on Canada with 10 points at the Olympics earned him the captaincy for his country for the World Championship.
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