After getting bounced in the first round of the NHL playoffs, five Oilers players are representing their countries in the World Championship in Switzerland. Canada features two defencemen, Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse, while Sweden features Mattias Ekholm.

Additionally, two youngsters are in the other bracket. Josh Samanski represents Germany once again, while Isaac Howard is one of several young players on USA’s roster as they look to defend their gold medal.

Let’s take a look at what happened on the first day of the 2026 World Championship.

Canada vs. Sweden

All five Oilers players were in action Friday, with three participating in the same game. Canada had a tough first test, but ended up defeating Sweden 5-3.

Nurse picked up an assist on Canada’s opener, with John Tavares opening the scoring less than two and a half minutes into the game. With four to play in the first period, Ryan O’Reilly extended their lead to 2-0.

As expected, there was some fight in Sweden, as Jacob Larsson and Lucas Raymond scored less than three minutes apart midway through the second, tying the game at two. However, former Oiler Dylan Holloway restored their lead with his first of the tournament.

The lone Oilers player to score Friday was Ekholm, as the Swedish defenceman scored just over a minute after Holloway’s goal.

TSN

@TSN_Sports

·Follow

.... and just like that it's a tied again between Canada and Sweden. Mattias Ekholm makes it 3-3. #MensWorlds

Watch on X

3:51 PM · May 15, 2026

Read 8 replies

It was in the third period that Canada won the game. Another former Oilers forward, Connor Brown, scored his first of the tournament early in the final frame to give Canada a 4-3 lead. With seven minutes to play, Nurse picked up his second assist of the game.

Ekholm was named Sweden’s player of the game, Nurse tallied two assists, and while Bouchard was held off the scoresheet, he played a game-high 23:21 minutes.

Germany vs. Finland

Over in Group A, Josh Samanski’s Germany fell 3-1 to Finland. In the first period, Anton Lundell opened the scoring, and the game entered the third period with a 1-0 score.

Three minutes in, former Oilers forward Jesse Puljujärvi gave the Finns a 2-0 lead, which happened to be the game-winner as Stefan Loibl scored with 12 minutes left in the third for Germany. With four and a half to play, Aatu Räty scored to make it 3-1, with Puljujärvi picking up an apple.

Samanski played just under 19 minutes, losing both faceoff draws that he took. The left-shot centre finished with one shot, which came in the second period.

USA vs. Switzerland

Also in Group A, the reigning gold medallists, the USA, took on the reigning silver medallists, Switzerland. The hosts came out on top thanks to a 3-1 victory, even though the USA was the better team for the final 50 minutes.

Just two minutes into the game, Pius Suter opened the scoring for the hosts. Then midway through the first, Sven Andrighetto made it 2-0 for Switzerland. The third period saw Alex Steeves cut the Swiss lead to one, but Ken Jager scored with under four to play for the 3-1 victory.

Ike Howard may not have gotten a point, but he was noticeable. Lining up with Tommy Novak and Oliver Moore on the second line, they did a good job of hemming the Swiss in its zone on multiple occasions. Additionally, Howard almost scored a goal, but was robbed by Leonardo Genoni.

Overall, Howard finished with a team-high three shots and had 14:18 minutes of ice time. He was on the ice for one Switzerland goal, and also got some time on the power play.

Other notes…

In the other game, Czechia defeated Denmark by a score of 4-1. Because of a better goal differential, Czechia now sits ahead of Canada in the standings.

It won’t be long before Canada is back in action, as they take on Italy Saturday at 8:20 a.m. MT. Only Bouchard and Nurse will be in action, as USA and Germany don’t play again until Sunday. USA will play Great Britain at 4:20 a.m. MT, and Germany plays Latvia at 12:20 p.m. MT.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.