Thursday’s quarterfinals are set at the IIHF World Championship, and all but one of the four games will offer a distinct Detroit Red Wings flavor.
Detroit defenseman Justin Faulk and Red Wings draftee Max Plante of the USA are facing Red Wings center Emmitt Finnie and goalie Cam Talbot in one quarterfinal. Meanwhile, two players who spent the majority of the 2025-26 season with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins are meeting in another quarterfinal. Forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Norway face off against winger Eduards Tralmaks and Latvia.
The Norwegians were 1.1 seconds away from a regulation win over Denmark in their last group stage game when the Danes tied the score.
“It sucks,” Brandsegg-Nygard told Swedish website Aftonbladet. “It’s not fun to see that there are 1.1 seconds left on the clock when they equalize. But for us, it was just a matter of resetting and winning the game anyway, and we did that.”
It was Brandsegg-Nygard who netted the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory just 13 seconds into the extra session.
Norway is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2012.
“Latvia will be fun to face,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “I have two friends there.”
Swedes Loaded With Red Wings Content
Sweden will face unbeaten host Switzerland (7-0) in their quarterfinal game. The Swedes suit up current Red Wings Lucas Raymond and Albert Johansson. Former Detroit players Jacob de la Rose, Robert Hagg, and Magnus Hellberg are also in the Swedish lineup.
Hellberg is filling the role as Sweden’s No. 1 goalkeeper.
“We go for gold or nothing,” Hellberg told Aftonbladet. “We have shown at times against the good teams that we can play very good hockey. Then it’s important that we are really on our toes.
“We may not be favorites, but I don’t think we should be counted out.”
Former Detroit center Pius Sutter is playing for the Swiss.
The fourth quarterfinal is between Czechia and Finland. In the Czech lineup are former Wings Filip Hronek and Dominik Kubalik. Ex-Detroit defenseman Olli Maatta plays for the Finns.