Day one of the IIHF Men’s World Championship was underway in Czechia, with six Devils in action. The yearly tournament, which takes place in the Czech cities of Prague and Ostrava, will see eight different Devils participate.
Five countries including the U.S.A, Canada, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Czechia will be represented by Devils. Four of which were in action on the opening day of the World Championship tournament.
Switzerland 5 – Norway 2
One of two games in the early window, and the one featuring the most Devils players, saw the Swiss comfortably take down Norway. Devils captain Nico Hischier and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler were in action for Switzerland while Akira Schmid watched from the press box.
Hischier ended the game pointless but did earn himself a two-minute high-sticking penalty. Meanwhile, Siegenthaler recorded an assist on Switzerland’s second goal of the game.
Hischier, Siegenthaler, and possibly Schmid will be back in action on May 12, when they take on Austria.
Slovakia 4 – Germany 6
The second game of the early window saw Simon Nemec and Slovakia take on Germany. The Slovakians fell in a tight game, which saw them heavily lean on Nemec.
The Devils rookie defenseman went pointless but amassed 20:11 of ice time, second among all Slovakian players. Nemec is no stranger to representing his country internationally, having represented the Bronze medal-winning Slovakians at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
He’ll look to bounce back as Slovakia takes on Kazakhstan on May 12.
Sweden 5 – United States 2
Calder nominee and Devils rookie defenseman Luke Hughes was also in action as the U.S. took on a stacked Sweden team. A Sweden team that lived up to their hype, as they handily beat the Americans 5-2.
Hughes didn’t have his best night, ending with 0 points and a -3 in 16:40 of ice time. This is also Hughes’s second World Championship, his first being in 2022.
Luke and the rest of Team U.S.A. will look to bounce back on May 11, when they take on Germany.
Czechia 1 – Finland 0
The second afternoon game saw Devils Ondrej Palat and the Czechs take on team Finland. A low-event game saw the host nation seal the victory in the shootout.
Palat had thought he put Czechia on the board, but his goal was called off for goaltender interference. He played in 15:34 of ice time but was also unable to convert his shootout attempt.
The Czechs look to continue their winning against Norway when the two sides face off on May 11.
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