10 NHLers to Watch at the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship
Daily Faceoff named 10 NHLers to watch at the 2026 international ice hockey federation World Championship, a 16-team event set for May 15-31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland. The group includes Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, all of whom could shape medal races for Germany, Sweden, Finland and the United States.
Moritz Seider Leads Germany
Seider is the clearest anchor on the list. The 25-year-old Germany defenseman is projected to log heavy minutes and carry Germany through a tournament where one strong blue-liner can tilt games against deeper opponents.
His NHL season backed up that profile. Seider posted 10 goals and 60 points, numbers that point to the kind of two-way impact Germany will need if it pushes beyond the middle of the field in a tournament with a 16-team setup.
Lucas Raymond Brings Sweden Scoring
Raymond enters his fourth World Championship with a scoring record that already travels well internationally. He has averaged a point per game through 28 World Championship contests, and he closed the NHL regular season with 76 points in 80 games with the Red Wings.
Sweden is one of the favorites to win gold, so Raymond’s role is less about proving he belongs and more about whether his production can hold against the highest-end competition. In a short tournament, that kind of run can decide whether Sweden stays on track or gets dragged into tighter games than expected.
Barkov And Tkachuk Return
Barkov brings the sharpest contrast in the group. He has not played in a competitive game since the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, but his World Championship history is strong: he last represented Finland at the event in 2016, won silver that year, and has seven goals and 16 points in 17 World Championship games over two tournaments.
Tkachuk offers a different kind of intrigue for the United States. He has never played at the IIHF Men’s World Championship before, and his most recent international line came at the Olympics, where he did not score and finished with six assists. That makes him one of the tournament’s most watched additions, especially because the U.S. has enough skill around him to turn his first appearance into an immediate test.
The larger picture is simple. Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Finland, Switzerland and the United States are among the teams to watch, and Germany sits in the zone where it can contend for a medal or fall just short of the final quarterfinal spot. For readers tracking the tournament before it opens in Switzerland, the names on this list are the ones most likely to decide which path the bracket takes.
