To begin the 2026 IIHF World Championship, there were five Calgary Flames players representing four different countries, and after the preliminary round, Slovakia and Martin Pospisil were officially eliminated. Then, in the quarterfinals, another two were eliminated when Matt Coronato and Devin Cooley were blanked by Team Canada 4-0, leaving just two players standing ahead of the semifinals.
For the second straight game, Zach Whitecloud and Canada will matchup against another Flame, as Olli Maatta and Team Finland stand in Canada's way of a gold medal in what should be a very competitive battle.
THE SEMI-FINAL PAIRINGS 👀🔥 #MensWorlds #IIHF pic.twitter.com/JgHbWhXq6G
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 28, 2026
Both teams come into this game on the back of dominant performances in the preliminary rounds, combining for just one regulation loss, as Canada went 6-1-0-0 to top Group B while Finland posted a record of 6-0-0-1.
In the semifinals, Canada picked up the 4-0 victory over the United States, with Whitecloud picking up his first assist of the tournament, with goals coming to Connor Brown, Macklin Celebrini, Dylan Holloway and Sidney Crosby. As for Finland, they were similarly dominant against Czechia, and while Olli Maatta didn't get on the board, the team came away winners 4-1 despite outshooting their opponents just 28-26.
Obviously, Whitecloud and the Canadians come into this one as heavy favourites, but with two recent Calgary Flames additions, one on each side, there's plenty to cheer for as these two teams look to book their place in the gold medal game against either Norway or Switzerland.
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