The necessary work on this article was pushed back due to personal obligations. To make up for the wait, I decided to give this some more thoroughness and make it a grander scale analytical piece that puts the group stage into a broader context and provides some grander evaluations of groups and individual players. Gives us something to look over before things pick up in the elimination/placement playoffs phase tomorrow.

Game nine: Czech Republic 4-1 Finland

This game was somewhat low event and some of the micro-narratives that played out reflected that. The most prominent example revolves around the individual who can make a strong case for himself as the star of the tournament so far and has already etched his name into the history books permanently. We saw a somewhat quieter performance from Adam Benak this time around, but he did still manage to register a secondary assist as he grows his all-time record for scoring at the tournament. The story of the game wound up being Vít Zahejsky (HC Energie Karlovy Vary, 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible). With his two primary assists, he had the biggest offensive impact on the game. Adam Novotny also continued to make an impression via his consistency and he had a goal to show for it in this matchup. While the Czechs didn’t overwhelm the Finns in this game, they were clinical and efficient and sometimes, that counts for as much. I expect this talented group to put on a show in the semifinals tomorrow. I would be surprised if they completely overwhelm their opponents, but they’re gonna make it a dogfight akin to the true best-on-best matchups we have seen to this point in the tournament (perhaps best exemplified to the point prior to this game by the OT showdown between Sweden and Slovakia).

The Finns, meanwhile, find themselves in a position where they must play for seventh place. This group as a whole just was not equipped to produce and have had great struggles in special teams situations. They will have to rely largely upon goaltending to win their playoff and avoid the dreaded “wooden spoon.”

Game ten: USA 12-3 Germany

Defenseman Blake Fiddler (son of ex-NHLer Vernon Fiddler; Edmonton Oil Kings, 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible) opened the scoring up, Teddy Mutryn took home player of the game, and Alexander Donovan (Shattuck-St. Mary’s, committed to University of Denver, 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible) led the way in points, but it was Nicolas Sykora (son of ex-NHLer Petr Sykora; Omaha Lancers, committed to Quinnipiac, 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible) that made the biggest impression on me. His athleticism, finesse, and slickness popped out to me as he had a three-point night (2g-1). The group overall showed a lot of cohesion and were both persistent and effective, hemming Germany inside their own zone on a lot of possessions and making quick work on others. The shots on goal for Germany, consequently, were in the single digits for a lot of the game. I think there is something to this – Controlling offensive zone possession is a useful defensive tactic on top of its obvious offensive benefit. It’s reliant upon a lot of consistency and cohesion, but they had it last night. This level of productivity should also instill a strong mindset and a lot of confidence in their offensive producers for the semifinals.

With the group as a whole being more than adequately subdued by their opponents, it became hard to single out German performances until the third period when the goals actually started coming in. The Griva twins were silent this time around and David Lewandowski wasn’t able to show his playmaking strengths until the game started to open up for them in a “Too little, too late” manner. He registered one assist in the game. Germany will play for the fifth place spot in a playoff tomorrow. Depending on which version of them we see, it could be a very competitive game.

Game 11: Slovakia 3-2 Switzerland (OT)

I couldn’t watch this one, but you can shoot over to Dylan Robillard’s X account for some of his live in-person impressions of the game. He already had eyes on Slovakia’s Jan Chovan (Tappara Tampere, 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible) going into the matchup and he was rewarded for his anticipation about him via a goal. Goaltender Roberto Leonardo Enriquez (HC Slovan Bratislava, 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible) also stood out as reliable for Slovakia when called upon. There is a little bit more on the TL, but you should take a look and hear it from the horse’s mouth.

Slovakia stand as Germany’s opponent in the fifth place playoff. Given some of their high end talent such as Adam Nemec (when he is on), probably stand as the favorites, but Germany also has the capability to counterpunch with the likes of Lewnadowski and the Grivas. It’s definitely a matchup I can at least imagine going either way. Switzerland will face off against Finland for seventh place. That one could very well end up being a goaltending duel given that both nations have gotten more consistency out of that position than any other.

Game 12: Canada 2-1 Sweden

This was pinned as the marquee matchup of the preliminary phases and the two squads didn’t disappoint. It wasn’t high-scoring, but it wasn’t low event. We just saw exceptional goaltending performances and strong fundamentals. The goaltenders earned their player of the game superlatives for their respective nations. On several occasions, Isak Sorqvist (Luleå HF, 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible) pulled off some impressive feats of athleticism combined with his exceptional vision to deny goals. The save on Cole Reschny in-tight after a play initiated by Reschny himself on a drop pass stands out in this respect. On the other end, we all remember the absurd sequence that Jack Ivankovic had on that one Swedish power play, which was also aided by Quinn Beauchesne (Guelph Storm, 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible) by doing a fantastic job locking it down at the netfront. Ivankovic finally looked human at some point, allowing his first goal of the tournament in this matchup, but it was also his biggest statement performance to this point by showing off some true capability of dominance against their toughest opponent. By a similar token to the Beachesne point, another member of the Canadian blue line core in the form of Matthew Schaefer, who has already done an exceptional job making high impact plays on a whim, also showed his value as a minutes muncher, as well. He stood out to me as a valuable piece here as far as skaters were concerned simply by putting in work that would make the likes of Zdeno Chara smile in appreciation.

Due to the suspension of Braeden Cootes (Seattle Thunderbirds, 2025 NHL Entry Draft eligible), Reschny was bumped up to line one for this game, and he proved to have earned it. He had a lot of impactful shifts despite that line only accounting for one goal, which ultimately stood as the GWG. He and Cameron Schmidt brought a lot of energy to the game and had an “Everything but the goal” effect going until McKenna, who actually might have been somewhat subdued in this game otherwise amongst a tournament performance that has been solid but not exemplary, fired a laser beam immediately off of the Reschny faceoff win (which felt appropriate given the chemistry Reschny and McKenna have had when they’ve played together previously). He also could be counted upon for key defensive zone faceoff wins in the dying minute and a half of the third period and made his presence known physically, as well. He’s found a way to make a mark on the games even when things haven’t fully opened up and has had some close calls such as that aforementioned opportunity and an impressive between-the-legs attempt against Slovakia, yet even without those has been an impact player and currently leads Team Canada in points on the back of his five point performance against Switzerland and his assist in last night’s showdown. I also was pretty impressed by Caleb Desnoyers (who also had an assist of his own last night). He’s made a few mistakes here and there, but his hands, vision, and playmaking shine through much more often than not. He’s provided a sneakily good tournament as he seeks to establish himself as a standout piece in this year’s class’ impressive depth at the center position. It should be curious to see what both players do in the medal rounds. Canada takes on the USA in the semifinals tomorrow, with Sweden up against the Czech Republic. As is standard for the Hlinka, the USA isn’t rolling out a top heavy squad, but we’ll see what they provide in terms of competition as a unit that has pretty good chemistry against a star-studded Canadian group. Sweden vs. Czechia should be a fantastic skill on skill matchup and we’ll see who has to yield in a “Something’s gotta give” faceoff between squads that could very well be evenly matched, or at minimum, closely.

Players of the prelims, unranked:

Adam Benak (CZE)

When given enough space, with or without the puck, he’ll make you pay. His productivity is a combination of accomplishing the absurd due to a mixture of athleticism and skill that looks like it is at least top three in the world for 2025 class members. I’d say he’s perhaps equally good at the on- and off-the puck elements of offensive play. With his impact on games being so profound, it may just be enough to push Czechia to their second-ever gold medal. Having a talisman that can take over games and stand out as the best player on either side is a significant catalyst for success and he provides that every night. With him being as determined and dialed in as he is right now, he is going to be a significant threat in the medal rounds.

Matthew Schaefer (CAN)

He’s simply been accomplishing the Herculean seemingly at will. We are reminded of his profile generally of being a strong TWD, but he also has the skill with both his hands and feet to attack in a way that forces his will upon effectively helpless defenses. His work rate and cardio allow him to be a main fixture for long, long stretches of the game. His performance is a curious reflection point with him being an extremely young member of the 2025 class. He has a fantastic profile already at such a difficult position and plenty of more time to grow as a player. Just his output and body of work here makes a tremendous statement. We may look back on this one day as his declaration of having fully arrived as a superstar in the making and a major launching pad for success.

Cole Reschny (CAN)

I’ve sung his praises a lot, but I needed to formally acknowledge him. He proved himself worthy of being granted a bigger role when it was given to him. He’s simultaneously playing a great all-around game while leading his team in points. He showed willingness to stand up for his teammates when taking a cross-checking penalty on Sweden’s Eddie Genborg in response to a hit on Reese Hamilton. Reschny has often faced challenges on the ice in his career, such as facilitating an offense while playing on line two and having to play a 200 foot game and excel at the dot in his capacity in Victoria. He has succeeded in that. He’s effectively a Swiss Army Knife out there. Any capacity you need him to fill, he has plenty of capability to be successful in that endeavor.

Viktor Klingsell (SWE)

This isn’t a simple formality of incorporating the leading point scorer of the prelims, it’s how it happened. He’s had the most steady reliable output by having a gigantic impact on a blowout win and before that, he was there when they needed him in a close, competitive game that ultimately stood as the biggest factor into them punching their ticket into the semifinals. He didn’t register a point against Canada, but a mulligan has to be granted considering the stinginess those two teams exhibited against one another. He’s been such a fantastic facilitator and the numbers aren’t just gloss, they were ultimately consequential. I won’t be surprised if he continues to play a meaningful role in the medal round.

Tomorrow’s schedule:

Fifth place game: Germany vs. Slovakia – 2:00 PM ET

Seventh-place game: Switzerland vs. Finland – 3:00 PM ET

Semifinal 1: Sweden vs. Czech Republic – 5:30 PM ET

Semifinal 2: USA vs. Canada – 9:30 PM ET