BOSTON –– There is more hockey to play for a group of Boston Bruins.
James Hagens, Mason Lohrei, Alex Steeves, Fraser Minten, Joonas Korpisalo, Henri Jokiharju, Lukas Reichel and Providence Bruin Matěj Blümel will all participate in the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship for their respective countries.
The international tournament will span from May 15 to 31 in Switzerland, between Zurich and Fribourg. It begins with group play; the 16 teams will be split into two groups of eight (A and B), playing each opponent once in the opening stage.
Group A is the United States, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary and Great Britain. Group B is composed of Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia and Italy. Swiss Life Arena in Zurich will host Group A, while BCF Arena in Fribourg will host Group B. The semifinals and medal games will be played in Zurich.
The top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, which are played across the groups. This means the top-ranked team from each group matches up with the fourth-ranked team from the other. Each second-place team plays the other group’s third-place squad. The semifinals are reseeded based on group-stage records.
In the group stage, three points are awarded for a win in regulation, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss and no points for a regular loss. If tied at the end of regulation, there is a five-minute, 3-on-3 overtime. For the quarterfinals, semifinals and bronze-medal game, overtime is 10 minutes. For the gold-medal game, overtime is 20-minute, 3-on-3 periods until a winner is determined.
The World Championship is an opportunity for NHLers not only to continue playing in the offseason but also to compete against top-tier competition, with the pride of their country on the line. They will battle for ice time, lineup positioning and some shiny hardware.
Let’s take a closer look at the Bruins lacing it up overseas.
Team USA: James Hagens, Mason Lohrei, Alex Steeves
The United States is looking to earn back-to-back gold medals for the first time in tournament history. Team USA won its first gold since 1933 at the World Championship last May, posting an overall 9-1 record en route to the clinching overtime win against Switzerland.
Lohrei, Jeremy Swayman, Andrew Peeke and Mikey Eyssimont were all on that team. Swayman went undefeated (7-0), with two shutouts and a 1.69 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. The goaltender is not attending this year’s tournament because he and his fiancée, Alessandra, are welcoming their first child around the same time.
Lohrei, though, will take the winning experience into his second go-around at the World Championship. The 25-year-old defenseman had three points (one goal, two assists) in five games with Team USA last year. Lohrei had 26 points (seven goals, 19 assists) in 73 regular-season games with the Bruins.
Hagens and Steeves will both skate in their first World Championship.
It adds another bullet point to the resume for Hagens, who played 34 NCAA hockey games at Boston College, six AHL games, two regular-season and three playoff NHL games, all this season. The 19-year-old forward also represented the United States in the IIHF 2026 World Junior Championship in December and January; he had seven points (two goals, five assists) in five games. Hagens came up through the United States National Team Development Program.
This will mark Steeves’ first time playing for Team USA. The 26-year-old forward landed in Boston in July and signed a two-year extension with the team in January. Steeves had 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 43 games in his first year with the Bruins.
Team Canada: Fraser Minten
Minten made substantial strides in his rookie season with the Bruins, and he will look to continue to develop with Team Canada, alongside the likes of Sidney Crosby, John Tavares, Ryan O’Reilly and Macklin Celebrini.
The 21-year-old forward, who is from Vancouver, British Columbia, had 35 points (17 goals, 18 assists) through 82 games in Boston. Minten was one of three players (with Mark Kastelic and Sean Kuraly) who played every game in the regular season.
This will be Minten’s first time competing in the World Championship. He was the captain of Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship; he had three points (one goal, two assists) through five games.
Team Finland: Henri Jokiharju and Joonas Korpisalo
Both Jokiharju and Korpisalo represented Finland at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, winning the bronze medal.
Jokiharju has much experience playing for Finland in international competition. The 26-year-old defenseman was in the 4 Nations Face-Off and was part of Finland's gold-medal-winning teams at the 2019 IIHF World Championship and the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship. He also appeared in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship and won gold with Team Finland at the 2016 IIHF U18 World Championship. Jokiharju had 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) through 41 games this year in Boston.
Korpisalo will suit up for his second World Championship. He represented Finland at the 2017 IIHF World Championship, 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship and 2012 IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship. The 32-year-old goaltender had a 3.15 GAA and .894 SV% through 31 games with the Bruins this season.
Team Germany: Lukas Reichel
Reichel is no stranger to the World Championship. This will be the 23-year-old forward’s fifth time representing Germany in the tournament. The Nürnberg, Germany, native has played for the national team since 2017 (U16, U17 and U18), as well as the 2020 WJC.
Reichel was traded to Boston from Vancouver in March and had eight points (three goals, five assists) through 29 games with the Bruins. He played four regular-season games with Providence in the AHL and earned six points (one goal, five assists) before getting the call-up.
Team Czechia: Matěj Blümel
Blümel is set to skate in his third World Championship with Czechia; he participated in 2021 and 2022 and has played for the national team at each level of his hockey career.
The 25-year-old forward spent the majority of this season in the AHL with Providence. Blümel had 52 points (21 goals, 31 assists) through 58 games in the regular season, which was fourth-most points on the roster. He also had two goals in four games in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Blümel played in four NHL games with the Bruins after signing a one-year deal with the organization in July 2025.
Blümel got to skate on a line with countrymen Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak in November when he was with the main club. There was briefly a new Czech line in Boston. Neither Zacha nor Pastrnak will be at the World Championship.
Where to Watch
The 2026 IIHF World Championship games will be on NHL Network in the United States, and TSN (in English) and RDS (in French) in Canada. You can also livestream the tournament on the IIHF TV platform.
