CALGARY, Alberta – Hockey Canada has announced the 23 players who will wear the Maple Leaf with Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, May 15-31 in Zürich and Fribourg, Switzerland.
The roster, which includes three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 12 forwards, was selected by the management group, which includes Brad Treliving (Penticton, BC) and Jason Spezza (Mississauga, ON/Pittsburgh, NHL), with support from Kyle Dubas (Sault Ste. Marie, ON/Pittsburgh, NHL) and Scott Salmond (Creston, BC), Hockey Canada’s senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations. Two NHL executives – Gregory Campbell (Tillsonburg, ON/Florida, NHL) and Andrew Cogliano (Woodbridge, ON/Colorado, NHL) – also assisted with player selections, while head coach Misha Donskov (London, ON) and the coaching staff also provided input.
Among the 23 players are 12 who have previously suited up for Canada at the IIHF World Championship (Barzal, Brown, Celebrini, Cozens, Nurse, O’Reilly, Rielly, Scheifele, Tavares, Talbot, Vilardi, Whitecloud) and two Olympic medallists (Celebrini, Tavares). The roster also includes 14 players who have represented Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Barzal, Bouchard, Celebrini, Cozens, Dickinson, Holloway, Ivankovic, Mateychuk, Minten, Nurse, Rielly, Scheifele, Tavares, Thomas) and three who are set to make their international debuts (DeMelo, Finnie, Greaves).
“The roster for the 2026 IIHF World Championship showcases tremendous commitment from some of the very best players in hockey representing Canada internationally, and we thank our 23 players for their commitment to playing for their country,” Dubas said. “The roster named today combines players who have represented Canada at the very highest level with young players who have the potential to be impact players for Team Canada for years to come, and veteran players with excellent National Men’s Team and Stanley Cup experience that will provide guidance and leadership.”
“The 2026 Men’s Worlds represents a great opportunity for Canada to compete against the best nations in the world. The players and our entire staff are a group that we expect to earn the chance to compete for a gold medal, and it is an opportunity and challenge that we will not take lightly in Switzerland.”
In addition, three players will join Canada’s National Men’s Team for its pre-tournament camp in Paris, France – Brendan O’Donnell (Waterloo, ON/Adler Mannheim, DEL), Daniel Renouf (Pickering, ON/Adler Mannheim, DEL) and Nate Schnarr (Waterloo, ON/Kölner Haie, DEL).
Canada will open Men’s Worlds against Sweden on May 15 at 10:20 a.m. ET/7:20 a.m. PT. It will also take on Italy, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, Slovakia and Czechia before the tournament concludes with the medal games on May 31. Prior to the start of the tournament, Canada’s National Men’s Team will practice at Accor Arena in Paris from May 8-11, and will take on France in pre-tournament action on May 10. It will also face off against Hungary on May 13 at the Patinoires du Littoral in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will broadcast 64 and 22 games, respectively; please check local listings for details.
Since 1931, Canada has collected 28 gold medals at the IIHF World Championship, to go along with 16 silver and seven bronze.
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.