Seven Chicago Blackhawks representing three countries will play in the 2026 IIHF World Championship, which begins Friday in Switzerland and runs through May 31.
Anton Frondell and Arvid Söderblom are on Sweden’s roster, Teuvo Teräväinen will represent Finland and four Hawks — Oliver Moore, Wyatt Kaiser, Sam Lafferty and Drew Commesso — will suit up for Team USA.
Frondell hopes to continue his recent success in international competition. He had eight points (five goals, three assists) in seven games to help Sweden win the gold medal in the IIHF World Junior Championship in late December and early January. That included an eighth-round shootout winner against Finland in the semifinals.
The No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft, Frondell eased into the NHL this spring and impressed upon arrival. He had nine points (three goals, six assists) in 12 games, shifting from a wing to centering his own line. The worlds will be another opportunity for the 19-year-old to gain experience versus NHL competition.
Söderblom, 26, had an 8-13-3 record backing up starting goaltender Spencer Knight in 2025-26, with a 3.80 goals-against average, an .880 save percentage and his first career shutout. The Swedes open the tournament against Canada on Friday (9:20 a.m. CT, NHL Network).
U.S. hockey is on a hot streak after sweeping the men’s Olympic, women’s Olympic and Paralympic gold medals in February and March in Milan. The Americans also are reigning world champions — last year’s gold medal was their first at worlds since 1933 — and Moore, Kaiser, Lafferty and Commesso will help them try to defend that title.
They’re part of a roster headlined by Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk. Notable U.S. absences for the Hawks are center Frank Nazar and defenseman Alex Vlasic, who were on Team USA’s roster last year.
It will be Moore’s first game action since he suffered a lower-body injury March 8 in Dallas. The 21-year-old forward finished his first full season with the Hawks with 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 51 games.
Kaiser, 23, is in the Hawks’ long-term defensive plans. He averaged 19 minutes, 37 seconds of ice time in 2025-26, blocking 69 shots, laying 45 hits and generating 36 takeaways to pair with his 17 points (six goals, 11 assists).
Lafferty, 31, spent much of the season as a healthy scratch, scoring two points in 29 games.
Commesso, 23, is primed to join the Hawks goaltending room in the near future. He has a 49-51-10 record with a 2.75 GAA, a .906 save percentage and seven shutouts in three seasons with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. He also earned his first NHL win and shutout with a 36-save effort Jan. 10 in Nashville.
Team USA’s first game is Friday against host Switzerland (1:20 p.m. CT, NHL Network) in a rematch of last year’s gold-medal match. Tage Thompson scored the winning goal in a 1-0 overtime victory.
Teräväinen will skate for Finland again, fresh off a bronze medal in the Olympics. The 31-year-old veteran hopes to regain some confidence with the puck after totaling 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 75 games for the Hawks this past season.
Connor Bedard will not participate in the tournament, instead focusing on rehabbing injuries suffered during the season. He had eight points (five goals, three assists) in 10 games in the 2024 worlds in Czechia for Team Canada, which lost to Sweden in the bronze-medal game.
