Kampf to play for gold at 2024 IIHF World Championship; Tavares, Holmberg going for bronze

David Kampf will be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lone participant in the gold medal game of the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship after Czechia beat Sweden 7-3 on Saturday.

The gold medal game will begin at 2:20 PM ET on Sunday in Prague, with the Czechs taking on Sweden.

Canada’s John Tavares and Sweden’s Pontus Holmberg will play for bronze at 9:00 AM ET after both teams were eliminated on Saturday. Canada (Group A) and Sweden (Group B) won their respective groups in the round-robin but fell short in the semifinal.

Kampf centered Czechia’s second line with Martin Necas and Dominik Kubalik, the team’s most effective trio. Necas led the way with four goals, Kubalik had two goals and an assist, while Kampf had a goal and an assist himself.

Kampf, 29, has six points in eight games, 13 below his 78-game output with the Leafs this year. This is Kampf’s second appearance at the World Championship after scoring two goals and three points in a depth role in 2022, his first year with Toronto.

Tavares was one of Canada’s best players against Switzerland, and he managed to score a huge goal to force overtime. With the net empty, Tavares took a feed from John Tavares and beat Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni to make it 2-2. Tavares was not used in the shootout as Canada looked to push back.

Holmberg enters the bronze medal game with six assists, good for eighth in team scoring after nine games played.

Czechia last won gold at this event back in 2010, while Switzerland has never won it. Canada will look to keep their medal streak alive for the fifth straight year after winning gold in 2021 and 2023, and silver in 2019 and 2022. Canada has played for a medal in each of the past eight tournaments, the longest active streak of any team.