Team Canada now has a record of two wins and zero losses at the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Men’s Ice Hockey Championships in Switzerland. On Saturday from Fribourg, Switzerland, Canada blanked Italy by a score of 6-0.
It was a strong performance from Canadian goaltender Cam Talbot of the Detroit Red Wings. The native of Caledonia, Ontario made 19 saves for the shutout. He made eight saves in the first period, four saves in the second period, and seven saves in the third period.
San Jose Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini of North Vancouver, British Columbia led Canada in scoring with three points as he had two goals and one assist. Other Canadians with a multi-point game were St. Louis Blues centre Dylan Holloway of Calgary, Alberta (one goal and one assist for two points), Nashville Predators centre Ryan O’Reilly of Clinton, Ontario (one goal and one assist for two points), and Canadian Olympic gold medalist and Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares of Mississauga, Ontario (two assists). Tavares won a gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. The other two Canadian goal scorers were Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard of Oakville, Ontario, and Boston Bruins centre Fraser Minten of Vancouver, British Columbia.
With the win, Canada is tied with Slovakia for first place in Group B. There was an upset in Group B on Saturday as Slovenia shocked Czechia 3-2 in overtime. We also saw a minor upset in Group A on Friday as Switzerland, the host, beat the defending champion and Olympic gold medalist United States 3-1. The reason why this was only a minor upset is because this is not a very good American team.
