The 2025 IIHF World Championships are just around the corner. Official tournament games will begin on Friday, May 9th. The Sharks will have three players and one coach representing their country throughout the tournament.
Macklin Celebrini - Canada
On the heels of an incredible rookie season with 63 points in 70 games, leading all rookies in PPG (Points per Game), Celebrini will be representing Canada for the first time in a professional setting. It will be interesting to see what role Celebrini will be tasked with as Canada is stacked down the middle with Mackinnon, Crosby, and O’Reilly presumably locked down the middle. Celebrini is off to a good start with 4 points in Canada’s tune-up game against Hungary.
Alex Wennberg - Sweden
Wennberg will be the lone Sharks veteran playing in the tournament. Wennberg is representing Sweden at the World Championships for the 3rd time in his career. Wennberg was an unsung hero for the Sharks this season; his dependability in both zones was something the Sharks sorely needed after a disastrous 2023-24 campaign. He also has been the perfect leader for the young players on the Sharks, so it's no surprise he got the call for Sweden.
Will Smith - USA
Will Smith will be representing the USA for a second straight year. Last year, Smith played in 5 games for the States, failing to register a point. Smith will be looking to carry his late-season surge into a more successful showing in Sweden this year. Smith has shown the most growth of any Sharks player this season, going from looking completely lost in the first couple of months to a star on the verge of breaking out by April. It will be very interesting to see how he looks for the USA this time around.
Ryan Warsofsky - USA
Warsofsky will be at the helm for the first time for the USA. I discussed Warsofsky and my thoughts on his selection in a previous article, which can be found here.
William Eklund was supposed to represent Sweden at Worlds this year. However, he unfortunately suffered a significant injury. Eklund has undergone wrist surgery and has officially been removed from Sweden's roster. He is expected to make a full recovery for Sharks training camp.
The World Championships is an excellent opportunity for development, and it is positive to see the Shark's young stars get some recognition as even though rosters aren't full strength at this tournament, representing deep countries like the USA, Canada, and Sweden is not an easy task in any tournament. This is a good sign for the Sharks future.