The 2026 IIHF World Championship has officially eclipsed the halfway mark of the preliminary round, with each of the 16 participating countries now having played at least three games.
With a shoddy 1-2 start to the tournament, Team Sweden desperately needed a victory over Slovenia on Friday, and they got exactly what they were looking for. Both members of the Chicago Blackhawks who are representing the Swedes made an impact in the 6-0 win, inclduing 2025 third overall pick Anton Frondell.
Yes, Frondell finally made his World Championship debut after being healthy scratched in each of Sweden’s first three games. More in the links for the recap and highlights from the win over Slovenia.
Also in Blackhawks news, another one of the organizations young netminders is also finding success in Switzerland, while the United States dodged a scare against Germany.
Around the league, the Golden Knights pulled out an upset win in Game 1, Cale Makar sat out with an injury for Colorado, and the Sabres gave their head coach a multi-year extension.
All that & more in the Daily!
Blackhawks Offseason, News & Trade Rumors
Chicago Hockey Now: It’s about time! Anton Frondell made his first appearance at the World Championships on Wednesday and did not disappoint. Even in a limited role as Sweden’s 13th forward (why?), Frondell made a major impact in a 6-0 win over Slovenia.
More CHN: Arvid Soderblom stopped all 16 shots faced against the Slovenes to record his second win and first shutout of the World Championships. Meanwhile, Adam Gajan has also thrived so far in the tournament, with two wins in as many appearances. What a start for the two Blackhawks goaltenders in Switzerland!
More CHN: ICYMI — Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman joined forced to predict the first 63 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft. Much like most mock drafts from top analysts and writers so far, Wheeler and Pronman also had the Blackhawks drafting Ivar Stenberg with the fourth overall pick.
In other World Championship news, Team USA defeated Germany 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday, moving to 2-2 through three games. Ryan Leonard was the shootout hero for the Americans, scoring the game-winning goal in the fifth round. Oliver Moore was bumped down to the fourth line and tallied two shots on goal in 14:22 TOI. Sam Lafferty centered the third line and was minus-two in just 7:42. Wyatt Kaiser and Drew Commesso did not dress.
On this date 16 years ago, Dustin Byfuglien scored the overtime-winner in Game 3 of the 2010 Western Conference Final, giving the Blackhawks a 3-0 series lead. What a postseason run that was for “Big Buff.” Fun times.
On this day in 2010
Dustin Byfuglien scores the OT winner to give the Blackhawks a 3-0 series lead over the Sharks in the Western Conference Finals! pic.twitter.com/1OXAuYQo2l
— CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) May 21, 2025
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
Vegas Hockey Now: How about an upset to begin the Western Conference Final?! The Vegas Golden Knights stormed into Ball Arena and defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 1. Pavel Dorofeyev extended his goal streak to four games with his 10th of the postseason, while Dylan Coghlan, Brett Howden, and Nic Dowd (EN) also scored. Carter Hart made 36 saves and was stout late to hold off the Avs’ late push.
Colorado Hockey Now: Not only did the Avalanche drop Game 1 on home ice, but star defenseman Cale Makar did not suit up with an upper-body injury.
More Colorado Hockey Now: Adversity has struck the Colorado Avalanche and it’s going to be interesting to see how they respond. Aarif Dean offers 10 takeaways from the disappointing Game 1 loss to Vegas, where the team played without much swagger until it was too late.
NHL.com: Well deserved for Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff, who led a remarkable turnaround over the final four months of the regular season. The Sabres rewarded the Jack Adams finalist with a two-year contract extension on Wednesday.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Ben Kindel and Tommy Novak finished the season with similar stat lines, but by the end of the Pittsburgh Penguins season were trending in entirely different directions. Here’s the latest Pens’ 2025-26 season report cards from Dan Kingerski.
Montreal Hockey Now: While the Vegas Golden Knights are shockingly the most hated team in the NHL, it’s the Montreal Canadiens who garner the most distaste from Americans.
TSN: There had been some speculation recently about Mike Babcock being in the mix for the Edmonton Oilers vacant head coaching job. However, Babcock reportedly is more than happy living the retired life. I think that’s best for everyone.
NHLtraderumors.me: Now that Adam Foote is out of the picture, the belief is that Abbotsford Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra is the frontrunner to be his replacement in Vancouver. Of course, the Canucks also possess the third pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and have the chance to select Manny’s son, Caleb with that selection.
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