The 2023 World Championship is off and running. 16 teams are competing between host nations Finland and Latvia. The tournament is split into two groups (A and B) – it’s starting with a preliminary round-robin with qualifying nations moving on to an eight-team bracket.
GROUP A
Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, USA
GROUP B
Canada, Czechia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland
The Detroit Red Wings are represented by a grand total of 11. Here’s who’s competing in this years tournament:
Team USA: Derek Lalonde (assistant coach), Carter Mazur
Team Sweden: Lucas Raymond (alternate captain), Jonatan Berggren
Team Canada: Steve Yzerman (associate GM), Alex Tanguay (assistant coach), Paul Boyer (equipment manager), Joe Veleno
Team Czechia: Dominik Kubalik
Team Finland: Olli Maatta
Team Germany: Moritz Seider
A handful of games have already been played – On Friday, Team USA toppled Finland (4-1) and Carter Mazur picked up an assist. Czechia slid past Slovakia (3-2) with Kubalik picking up a pair of helpers, and Team Canada roared past Latvia (6-0) with Joe Veleno notching himself a goal. Moritz Seider and Team Germany were held scoreless by the Swedes but played a tight game (1-0). Berggren got an assist on Sweden’s lone goal.
There is a ton of hockey to be played in this tournament. It will be worth watching, especially if you’re getting a little bored with the NHL Playoffs like I am. The Worlds are being broadcast on NHL Network.
