photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDREA CARDIN
After 60 games, the IIHF.com reporting team is still talking hockey. With just four games left to decide the medals for 2024, we caught up with Lucas Aykroyd, Chris Jurewicz, Andrew Podnieks and Andy Potts one last time to get their thoughts on how the final weekend might play out.
Q: After years of near misses, Switzerland finally got through a quarter-final. After all the talk of the Swiss stepping up alongside the top nations, how close is the 2024 team to confirming that status?
Podnieks: Well, the only way to step up is to win, and they’ve been doing that. But for the Swiss the key is to get commitment from their best players to play. They have that this year, and look who’s here—Josi, Niederreiter, Hischier, Fiala. These are world-class players. They’ve played twice in the gold-medal game in the last dozen years, which is more than any country after Canada (7), Finland (5), and Sweden (3).
Jurewicz: The Swiss gave Canada its best game of the tournament so far, losing 3-2 on 19 May. I would say the question mark I have for the Swiss is whether they can generate offence when it's needed most. They were down 3-2 going into the third against Canada and could only muster six shots. They're going to need more than that to pull off an upset in the semi-final. Now, on the flip side, you have to love their defensive game.
Long story short when it comes to your question - they're very close.
Aykroyd: They have every active Swiss NHLer except Timo Meier, Pius Suter, and J.J. Moser. Their best players – Roman Josi, Nico Hischier, and Kevin Fiala – are near peak form. They’ve dispensed with a traditional nemesis in Germany. And objectively, the Canadian squad that Switzerland beat 3-2 in the 2018 semi-finals was a bit deeper than this year’s edition: Connor McDavid, Ryan O’Reilly, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Aaron Ekblad were among the noteworthy names. So if not now, when?
Potts: I’ve liked what I’m seeing from Switzerland so far, and Kevin Fiala’s arrival pushed the whole team up another notch. Canada didn’t excite me that much in group play: it felt like finding a way to win, rather than demonstrating a clear superiority. I wouldn’t bet the farm on it, but I’d make the Swiss slight favourites to make the gold medal game and then anything can happen for Patrick Fischer’s team.
Q: If passion alone won trophies, Czechia would have lifted this one in the middle of last week. Does the host nation have enough on the ice to back up the support in the arena?
Podnieks: The Czechs have had a couple of wobbles along the way, and they’ll be tested mightily against the 8-0 Swedes in the semis, but the crowds in Prague—wow! They won bronze hosting in 1992 but came away empty-handed in 2004 and 2015. Pressure? Maybe, but they’ve responded well so far. The Czech-Swede game could well be low scoring, which I would say favours the Swedes. The quicker Czechia scores, the better chance they have, but the longer the game remains 0-0, well, Sweden would love that.
Potts: I’d agree with Andrew that the Sweden-Czechia game could be a tight one. But I’d take issue with the idea that it would necessarily favour the Swedes. Yes, the Tre Kronor bring great defence. But the Czechs blanked Finland through 65 minutes on opening night, and silenced the most prolific group-stage offence to win the QF against the USA. Whether it’s a 1-0 game or a 10-goal barn-burner, the semi-final result feels like a coin-toss.
Jurewicz: I picked the Czechs to play for gold and I have to stick with it. Late adds of David Pastrnak, Martin Necas and Pavel Zacha have given an already solid team some star power. The atmosphere in Prague is going to be wild for Czechia's semi-final against Sweden and I think the Czechs have enough to pull it out.
Aykroyd: When you’re in the final four, anything can happen. The Swedes looked like they were squeezing their sticks pretty tightly in their 2-1 overtime win over Finland. If the Czechs get another virtuoso performance out of Lukas Dostal and avoid – despite the presence of sniper David Pastrnak – playing run-and-gun with an opponent that outscored them 35-26 in the group stage, they have a real chance. And if they get to the final, they’ve already showed they can compete with either Switzerland or Canada.
Q: Hockey’s a team game, but if you had to single out an individual who you think is going to make himself a hero in the next 48 hours, who would you pick?
Podnieks: The list of game-winning goal scorers over the last few years looks like this—Samuel Blais, Sakari Maninen, Nick Paul, Arttu Ilomaki, Filip Forsberg, Nicklas Backstrom. Sometimes the role players come through. So, I’ll go with these semi-finals heroes: Canada—Owen Power, Czechia—David Pastrnak, Sweden—Lucas Raymond, Switzerland—Kevin Fiala. Say no more.
Aykroyd: I keep circling back to Dylan Cozens. Not only does the 23-year-old Canadian ace lead this tournament with eight goals, but he has a history. In his last Worlds in 2022, Cozens scored Canada’s first goal in both the semi-finals (6-1 win over Czechia) and the gold medal game (4-3 OT loss to Finland). Coming off a fairly quiet quarter-final against Slovakia, he’ll be hungry.
Jurewicz: Lukas Dostal. He shut out the Americans with 36 saves and I think he's got another great game in him. If the Czechs win, maybe they put Dostal on a Czech Koruna coin (no idea if this is allowed or could be a thing but would be fun).
Potts: If we’re talking banknotes or postage stamps, you sense a Swiss gold would be the way to get your face immortalized for the nation. While Kevin Fiala feels like the most likely man to get a golden goal for Switzerland, you sense that Roman Josi might be the man who has the decisive say before the final hooter on Sunday. And I’m still not ruling out Roman Cervenka for MVP if Czechia gets past Sweden.
Q: While we’re not done yet, what do you feel the 2024 World Championship tells us about the health of the game around the world?
Podnieks: This is the most exciting Men’s Worlds in years. Very few blowouts, and even the weak teams have proved competitive. Overtime games, big comebacks, leads exchanged. And being in Czechia is such a great experience. You realize how important crowds are to a game’s atmosphere. How did we ever enjoy games in empty arenas during covid? This tournament shows significant health in the game right across the board.
Jurewicz: I'm of Polish descent so I'll be a bit biased here. I have to say I was impressed with the level of hockey the Poles brought to this tournament. They ended up finishing 16th of 16 teams but never really were blown out. They stayed with teams and had three two-goal losses and a truly memorable 5-4 overtime loss to Latvia. If the 16th-place team can be competitive and provide that level of hockey, I think the state of the game is strong.
Aykroyd: Looking at 2022, 2023, and 2024 (to date) in isolation, we see that the two newly promoted nations are the same ones getting relegated each year. So that speaks to a level of stability among the top 14. Most national programs show some signs of improvement, whether it’s Austria’s historic 3-2 upset over Finland or Norway’s blue-chip NHL prospects in forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and blueliner Stian Stolberg.
But I think the biggest, most tangible encouragement for developing nations comes when a team wins its first World Championship gold medal ever. That hasn’t happened since Slovakia’s 2002 breakthrough in Gothenburg. So if Switzerland can take the gold in Prague, it’s a very healthy sign for the sport at large.
Potts: Can’t argue with that assessment of the current top division tournament. I’d add that things in the lower divisions are getting more exciting. Poland’s rise from Division IB suggests that Robert Kalaber has them returning to their natural level; the sight of a revitalized Romania going into the final day of Division IA with an outside shot at promotion is encouraging. Then we can see Ukraine and Japan upsetting the odds to reach the final round of Olympic qualification. We won’t be seeing any of those countries making the last eight at the Worlds any time soon, but it makes for greater mobility throughout the World Championship system, which can only be a good thing for the game as a whole.
Q: After years of near misses, Switzerland finally got through a quarter-final. After all the talk of the Swiss stepping up alongside the top nations, how close is the 2024 team to confirming that status?
Podnieks: Well, the only way to step up is to win, and they’ve been doing that. But for the Swiss the key is to get commitment from their best players to play. They have that this year, and look who’s here—Josi, Niederreiter, Hischier, Fiala. These are world-class players. They’ve played twice in the gold-medal game in the last dozen years, which is more than any country after Canada (7), Finland (5), and Sweden (3).
Jurewicz: The Swiss gave Canada its best game of the tournament so far, losing 3-2 on 19 May. I would say the question mark I have for the Swiss is whether they can generate offence when it's needed most. They were down 3-2 going into the third against Canada and could only muster six shots. They're going to need more than that to pull off an upset in the semi-final. Now, on the flip side, you have to love their defensive game.
Long story short when it comes to your question - they're very close.
Aykroyd: They have every active Swiss NHLer except Timo Meier, Pius Suter, and J.J. Moser. Their best players – Roman Josi, Nico Hischier, and Kevin Fiala – are near peak form. They’ve dispensed with a traditional nemesis in Germany. And objectively, the Canadian squad that Switzerland beat 3-2 in the 2018 semi-finals was a bit deeper than this year’s edition: Connor McDavid, Ryan O’Reilly, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Aaron Ekblad were among the noteworthy names. So if not now, when?
Potts: I’ve liked what I’m seeing from Switzerland so far, and Kevin Fiala’s arrival pushed the whole team up another notch. Canada didn’t excite me that much in group play: it felt like finding a way to win, rather than demonstrating a clear superiority. I wouldn’t bet the farm on it, but I’d make the Swiss slight favourites to make the gold medal game and then anything can happen for Patrick Fischer’s team.
Q: If passion alone won trophies, Czechia would have lifted this one in the middle of last week. Does the host nation have enough on the ice to back up the support in the arena?
Podnieks: The Czechs have had a couple of wobbles along the way, and they’ll be tested mightily against the 8-0 Swedes in the semis, but the crowds in Prague—wow! They won bronze hosting in 1992 but came away empty-handed in 2004 and 2015. Pressure? Maybe, but they’ve responded well so far. The Czech-Swede game could well be low scoring, which I would say favours the Swedes. The quicker Czechia scores, the better chance they have, but the longer the game remains 0-0, well, Sweden would love that.
Potts: I’d agree with Andrew that the Sweden-Czechia game could be a tight one. But I’d take issue with the idea that it would necessarily favour the Swedes. Yes, the Tre Kronor bring great defence. But the Czechs blanked Finland through 65 minutes on opening night, and silenced the most prolific group-stage offence to win the QF against the USA. Whether it’s a 1-0 game or a 10-goal barn-burner, the semi-final result feels like a coin-toss.
Jurewicz: I picked the Czechs to play for gold and I have to stick with it. Late adds of David Pastrnak, Martin Necas and Pavel Zacha have given an already solid team some star power. The atmosphere in Prague is going to be wild for Czechia's semi-final against Sweden and I think the Czechs have enough to pull it out.
Aykroyd: When you’re in the final four, anything can happen. The Swedes looked like they were squeezing their sticks pretty tightly in their 2-1 overtime win over Finland. If the Czechs get another virtuoso performance out of Lukas Dostal and avoid – despite the presence of sniper David Pastrnak – playing run-and-gun with an opponent that outscored them 35-26 in the group stage, they have a real chance. And if they get to the final, they’ve already showed they can compete with either Switzerland or Canada.
Q: Hockey’s a team game, but if you had to single out an individual who you think is going to make himself a hero in the next 48 hours, who would you pick?
Podnieks: The list of game-winning goal scorers over the last few years looks like this—Samuel Blais, Sakari Maninen, Nick Paul, Arttu Ilomaki, Filip Forsberg, Nicklas Backstrom. Sometimes the role players come through. So, I’ll go with these semi-finals heroes: Canada—Owen Power, Czechia—David Pastrnak, Sweden—Lucas Raymond, Switzerland—Kevin Fiala. Say no more.
Aykroyd: I keep circling back to Dylan Cozens. Not only does the 23-year-old Canadian ace lead this tournament with eight goals, but he has a history. In his last Worlds in 2022, Cozens scored Canada’s first goal in both the semi-finals (6-1 win over Czechia) and the gold medal game (4-3 OT loss to Finland). Coming off a fairly quiet quarter-final against Slovakia, he’ll be hungry.
Jurewicz: Lukas Dostal. He shut out the Americans with 36 saves and I think he's got another great game in him. If the Czechs win, maybe they put Dostal on a Czech Koruna coin (no idea if this is allowed or could be a thing but would be fun).
Potts: If we’re talking banknotes or postage stamps, you sense a Swiss gold would be the way to get your face immortalized for the nation. While Kevin Fiala feels like the most likely man to get a golden goal for Switzerland, you sense that Roman Josi might be the man who has the decisive say before the final hooter on Sunday. And I’m still not ruling out Roman Cervenka for MVP if Czechia gets past Sweden.
Q: While we’re not done yet, what do you feel the 2024 World Championship tells us about the health of the game around the world?
Podnieks: This is the most exciting Men’s Worlds in years. Very few blowouts, and even the weak teams have proved competitive. Overtime games, big comebacks, leads exchanged. And being in Czechia is such a great experience. You realize how important crowds are to a game’s atmosphere. How did we ever enjoy games in empty arenas during covid? This tournament shows significant health in the game right across the board.
Jurewicz: I'm of Polish descent so I'll be a bit biased here. I have to say I was impressed with the level of hockey the Poles brought to this tournament. They ended up finishing 16th of 16 teams but never really were blown out. They stayed with teams and had three two-goal losses and a truly memorable 5-4 overtime loss to Latvia. If the 16th-place team can be competitive and provide that level of hockey, I think the state of the game is strong.
Aykroyd: Looking at 2022, 2023, and 2024 (to date) in isolation, we see that the two newly promoted nations are the same ones getting relegated each year. So that speaks to a level of stability among the top 14. Most national programs show some signs of improvement, whether it’s Austria’s historic 3-2 upset over Finland or Norway’s blue-chip NHL prospects in forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and blueliner Stian Stolberg.
But I think the biggest, most tangible encouragement for developing nations comes when a team wins its first World Championship gold medal ever. That hasn’t happened since Slovakia’s 2002 breakthrough in Gothenburg. So if Switzerland can take the gold in Prague, it’s a very healthy sign for the sport at large.
Potts: Can’t argue with that assessment of the current top division tournament. I’d add that things in the lower divisions are getting more exciting. Poland’s rise from Division IB suggests that Robert Kalaber has them returning to their natural level; the sight of a revitalized Romania going into the final day of Division IA with an outside shot at promotion is encouraging. Then we can see Ukraine and Japan upsetting the odds to reach the final round of Olympic qualification. We won’t be seeing any of those countries making the last eight at the Worlds any time soon, but it makes for greater mobility throughout the World Championship system, which can only be a good thing for the game as a whole.