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2019 IIHF Preliminary Rounds, Nashville Style

Which Predators are playing for their home countries, and how are they doing?

In a shortened postseason, several Predators have joined their national teams in the 2019 IIHF World Championship. Roman Josi and Yannick Weber joined Team Switzerland. Kyle Turris and Dante Fabbro have suited up for Canada, and Mattias Ekholm is sporting gold and blue for Sweden.

Below is a quick recap and look forward to the remaining preliminary games before the quarterfinals begin later this week.

Switzerland

Roman Josi and Yannick Weber join a Swiss team eager to defend last year’s silver medal. Josi is wearing an “A” for Switzerland again this summer.

Josi has 3 assists and 1 goal in four games for the Swiss. Weber has not posted any points. They join a few other NHLers like Nico Hischier, Sven Andrighetto, and former Predator Kevin Fiala on a roster that’s not nearly as star-studded as others. Check out Josi’s goal against Austria here:

The Swiss team demolished the Italians over the weekend 9-0. They also took down Team Latvia 3-1. On Tuesday afternoon, Switzerland defeated Austria 4-0. On Wednesday morning, the Swiss club took out Norway 4-1.

Next Game: vs. Sweden. Saturday, May 18th. 1:00 Central.

Canada

Kyle Turris and Dante Fabbro have joined Team Canada in Slovakia this summer. Late last week, Turris was given the “C” for Canada. Sean Couturier of Philadelphia and Mark Stone of Vegas will each wear an “A.”

Turris has performed very well for Canada. He has 2 goals and 3 assists over 3 games. Turris has some incredible chemistry with Detroit’s Anthony Mantha. They’ve combined for a boatload of points for Canada, including this top-shelf goal by Mantha off a slick saucer pass from Turris:

Dante Fabbro has had a quieter tournament, but he does have one goal for the boys in red and white. Fabbro took a puck to the mouth against Slovakia on Monday, but reports suggest he only had a cut and avoided significant injury. Fabbro scored against Great Britain earlier in the week.

Next Game: vs. France. Thursday, May 15th. 9:15 Central (NHL Network).

Sweden

Mattias Ekholm joins Team Sweden’s solid blue line. He has no points in his first three games with Sweden. The Swedes have seen some incredible production from Toronto’s William Nylander. There are plenty of notable NHL names on Sweden’s roster, including Henrik Lundqvist, Elias Pettersson, Elias Lindholm, Adrian Kempe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Patric Hornqvist.

Nashville’s Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg are not playing for Sweden this summer. Sweden has performed very well in this year’s tournament. They face Austria on Thursday and Switzerland on Saturday. Saturday’s game is the matchup many have been looking forward to since last summer where Sweden edged out Switzerland for gold.

Next Game: vs. Austria. Thursday, May 15th. 9:15 Central (TSN/IIHF online updates).

Remaining Preliminary Schedule

(all times Central)

Canada

Thursday, May 16th vs. France (9:15)

Saturday, May 18th vs. Germany (9:15)

Monday, May 20th vs. Denmark (1:15)

Tuesday, May 21st vs. USA (1:15)

Switzerland

Saturday, May 18th vs. Sweden (1:15)

Sunday, May 19th vs. Russia (1:15)

Tuesday, May 21st vs. Czech Republic (5:15)

Sweden

Thursday, May 16th vs. Austria (9:15)

Saturday, May 18th vs. Switzerland (1:15)

Monday, May 20th vs. Latvia (9:15)

Tuesday, May 21st vs. Russia (1:15)

NHL Network carries one of each of the morning and afternoon games. The broadcasters provide updates during intermission for other games in progress.

On the Forecheck will have additional IIHF coverage as the tournament progresses. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more summer Preds action.

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