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Macklin Celebrini, the 19-year-old San Jose Sharks star, will captain Canada at the world hockey championship beginning Friday in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland. Celebrini is not only the youngest player on Canada’s roster but also the youngest captain ever for the team at the tournament.
Celebrini has had a breakout season in just his second NHL year. He set a Sharks record with 115 points, scoring 45 goals and adding 70 assists over 82 regular-season games. His stellar play earned him a finalist spot for the Ted Lindsay Award alongside Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov. Only Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky reached 50 points faster as teenagers in a season.
Canada, silver medalists at this year’s Milano-Cortina Olympics, is the most successful nation in world championship history with 28 titles. Celebrini will share the leadership role with alternate captains John Tavares of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ryan O’Reilly of the Nashville Predators, both aged 35.
Sidney Crosby was a late addition to the team and will make his fourth appearance at the worlds. Crosby’s presence boosts Canada’s hopes after a disappointing fifth-place finish last year. Celebrini was part of the 2025 squad that included Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon when Canada was upset 2-1 by Denmark in the quarterfinals. Canada last claimed the world title in 2023.
The defending champion United States will try to retain the trophy it won in 2025 for the first time since 1933. That year, Tage Thompson scored in overtime to beat Switzerland 1-0 in the final. Thompson is unavailable this year due to the NHL playoffs. Only two players from last year’s U.S. roster remain: Mason Lohrei and Isaac Howard.
Matthew Tkachuk stands out for the U.S. as the only player on the team who won a gold medal at the Milano-Cortina Olympics. He could become the first American to join hockey’s Triple Gold Club, having won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Florida Panthers. Justin Faulk will captain the U.S. in his fourth worlds.
Host Switzerland, looking to improve after finishing runner-up the previous two years, features New Jersey Devils forwards Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, Winnipeg’s Nino Niederreiter, St. Louis Blues forward Pius Sutter, and Nashville defenseman Roman Josi. Traditional medal contenders Sweden and Finland bring stars like Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond and Florida Panthers center Aleksandar Barkov.
The tournament includes 16 teams split into two groups for the preliminary round. Group A in Zurich features the U.S., Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, and newcomer Britain. Group B in Fribourg includes Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, and newcomer Italy.
The top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals. The final and bronze-medal games are scheduled for May 31.
