Vancouver Canucks now have seven players likely heading to World Championship
The Vancouver Canucks season is mercifully over, but a handful of their players will be getting some extra reps.
World Hockey Championship rosters are starting to take place prior to puck drop on May 15 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland.
Last season, the Canucks had four players from the organization participate in the annual international competition: Filip Hronek (Czechia), Marcus Pettersson (Sweden), Conor Garland, and Drew O’Connor (United States).
Anri Ravinskis (Latvia) was signed by the Canucks just days after his tournament wrapped up.
While rosters won’t be finalized until closer to the May 15 puck drop, here are five Canucks who are in line to play at the World Championships.
1. Brock Boeser (United States)
- 2025-26 stats: 71 GP, 22 G, 26 A, 48 PTS
Despite carving out a nine-year NHL career as a top-six winger, Brock Boeser has never represented his country at the pro level.
But, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported on Friday that Boeser will suit up for the United States at this year’s World Hockey Championships.
The 29-year-old hasn’t represented his country internationally since suiting up for the World Juniors back in 2016.
Boeser will be joined on the United States squad by Canucks assistant coach Kevin Dean, who was named to the coaching staff on Thursday.
2. Liam Ohgren (Sweden)
- 2025-26 stats: 69 GP, 8 G, 10 A, 18 PTS
The progress of Liam Ohgren was a bright spot in a miserable season for the Canucks.
Although he was arguably the least intriguing asset in the Quinn Hughes trade return, Ohgren provided some speed, tenacity, and scoring touch to the Canucks lineup.
From the time he joined the Canucks in mid-December, Ohgren’s 17 five-on-five points were second among all Canucks skaters, trailing only Linus Karlsson (20).
Ohgren was one of three Swedish Canucks players named to Sweden’s preliminary tune-up squad. Based on the fact that Ohgren and the two players below were basically the only NHLers originally listed, they’re likely candidates to make Sweden’s team.
Last year, only three players on Sweden’s team were non-NHLers.
Linus Karlsson will represent his country internationally next month. (Stephen Brashear/Imagn Images)
3. Linus Karlsson (Sweden)
- 2025-26 stats: 79 GP, 15 G, 20 A, 35 PTS
Alongside Ohgren, Karlsson was one of the few Canucks players who performed above expectations this season.
The 26-year-old parlayed a stellar Calder Cup run in 2025 into a full-time spot in the NHL this season. Even though he began the year as a healthy scratch, once Karlsson entered the lineup, he never looked back.
Karlsson led all Canucks skaters with 29 five-on-five points this season, which led the Canucks. The next closest player was Drew O’Connor, who had 24 five-on-five points.
4. Nils Hoglander (Sweden)
- 2025-26 stats: 38 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS
Although Ohgren and Karlsson played above expectations, the same can’t be said for Nils Hoglander.
Still, he was named to Sweden’s initial roster for the World Hockey Championships.
Hoglander could probably use the reps after another tumultuous season. He admitted that his preseason ankle injury, which sidelined him until December, was certainly a hindrance. It didn’t help that, once again, he was unable to gain the trust of a new head coach.
For Hoglander, Ohgren, and Karlsson, another interesting storyline for Canucks fans to watch will be seeing if any of these players are skating with future linemates at the Worlds. Two top prospects in the 2026 NHL Draft, Ivar Stenberg and Viggo Bjorck, were also named to Sweden’s preliminary squad.
5. Aatu RĂ€ty (Finland)
- 2025-26 stats: 66 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 PTS
Aatu RĂ€ty was invited to Finland’s World Championship camp last week. While that doesn’t guarantee a spot on the roster, the fact that more than half of Finland’s team was made up of non-NHLers last year suggests he’ll probably make the team.
Like Hoglander, RĂ€ty was never able to fully gain the trust of head coach Adam Foote. His footspeed and timing of making plays in the offensive zone are still issues.
However, the 23-year-old is a workhorse behind the scenes in terms of his preparation, and not just with unparalleled work in practicing face-offs.
6. Filip Hronek (Czechia)
- 2025-26 stats: 82 GP, 8 G, 41 A, 49 PTS
As long as Filip Hronek wanted to play at the World Championship, you know he’d be on the roster.
The workhorse defenceman played all 82 games for the Canucks this season, along with five games for Czechia at the Olympics.
This is the sixth time in his career that he’s played for Czechia at the World Hockey Championship.
7. Jiri Patera (Czechia)
- 2025-26 AHL stats: 30 GP, 2.63 GAA, .910 SV%, 12-14-4
Alongside Filip Hronek, Jiri Patera was named to Czechia’s preliminary squad for the tournament. Since all three of Czcechia’s Olympic goaltenders are still participating in the NHL playoffs (Lukas Dostal, Dan Vladar, Karel Vejmelka), the door is open for a guy like Patera to make the team.
The 27-year-old is the only goalie with 2025-26 NHL experience named to the initial squad. He had a quietly solid season for a bad Abbotsford Canucks team, with his .910 save percentage ranking 10th overall among regular AHL goaltenders.