Fiala, Danault, Slukynsky set to begin knockout round of World Championships

4 members of the LA Kings organization entered, three remain.

With group play in the rearview mirror, forwards Kevin Fiala and Phillip Danault, along with goaltending prospect Hampton Slukynsky, have all advanced to the knockout stages of the 2025 IIHF World Championships.

In the quarterfinals, Fiala and Team Switzerland finished as the top team in Group B and will host Austria in a single-elimination game tomorrow. For Danault and Team Canada, they finished the tournament as the top seed in Group A and will take on Denmark in the quarterfinals. For Slukynsky and Team USA, they finished second behind Switzerland in Group B and will take on Finland tomorrow as well.

Starting at the top, Fiala joined up with Team Switzerland for their third game of the group stage, missing a loss to Czechia and a win over the host country, Denmark. Hopping right into action, Fiala helped propel his team to five consecutive victories to close out group play, as he collected seven points (2-5-7) in his five games played. Fiala had assists in each of his first two games played – a 3-0 win over the United States and a 5-1 win over Germany – before finishing with back-to-back multi-point games. Fiala had a goal and two assists in a 10-0 win over Hungary and a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over Kazahkstan which secured the top spot for Fiala and his country mates.

Fiala helped lead his country to a silver medal last season and was selected as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for his contributions in doing so. With a strong showing on a run back to playing for a medal, he could be in that conversation once again, especially if he continues to collect multiple points in knockout games.

For Danault, this marked the first time in his career he had represented Canada at the senior national team level and the first time at any level since 2013, when he skated at the World Junior Championships with the U-20 Canada squad. Danault has two assists in total, collecting one in a victory over Latvia and another in a victory over Austria. Throughout the tournament, Danault has largely centered the fourth line for Team Canada, skating in all seven games during group-stage play.

Lastly among those who advanced, goaltender Hampton Slukynsky has served as the third goaltender for Team USA in all seven games and did not appear in any games during group play. Slukynsky is playing behind Boston’s Jeremy Swayman and Seattle’s Joey Daccord, gaining experience as the third netminder. Slukynsky appeared in one pre-tournament game, a 5-2 victory over Germany.

The fourth member of the Kings organization to skate in the tournament was forward Martin Chromiak, who skated in his second senior world championships with Team Slovakia. Chromiak scored the opening goal in a 2-1 victory over France and also found the back of the net in the shootout during a 3-2 SOL against Austria. Chromiak and Slovakia finished with two victories from seven games played, finishing sixth in their group, which did not advance to the quarterfinal round.

Unclear which of the four games will be broadcast live in the US at this time, but two of the four quarterfinals matchups will be shown live on NHL Network. Both games in the semifinals will be broadcast live, as well as the gold and bronze medal games.

Quarterfinal Matchups – Thursday, May 22
QF1 – United States vs. Finland, 7:20 AM
QF2 – Switzerland vs. Austria, 7:20 AM
QF3 – Sweden vs. Czechia, 11:20 AM
QF4 – Canada vs. Denmark, 11:20 AM

Semifinal Matchups – Saturday, May 24
QF1 Winner vs. QF2 Winner, 5:20 AM
QF3 Winner vs. QF4 Winner, 8:20 AM

Bronze Medal Game – Sunday, May 25
SF1 Loser vs. SF2 Loser, 6:20 AM

Gold Medal Game – Sunday, May 25
SF1 Winner vs. SF2 Winner, 11:20 AM