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Hockey world championships takeaways: Who stood out and who struggled?

The 2026 men's hockey world championships are in the books.

Finland won a gold medal for the first time since 2022. Host Switzerland received a silver medal for the third year in a row as it fell in the championship game again, briefly silencing their boisterous fans before they cheered during the medal ceremony.

Norway was the surprise team of the tournament, reaching the knockout round for the first time since 2012 and then upsetting Canada in the bronze medal game for its first-ever world championships medal. The Canadians left the tournament without a medal for the third year in a row.

Meanwhile, the defending champion United States fell short of a repeat with a loss in the quarterfinals.

Here are five takeaways from the IIHF world championships.

More: Sharks' Macklin Celebrini receives individual awards at hockey worlds

Aleksander Barkov's play is good sign for Panthers

Barkov was available because the two-time champion Florida Panthers missed the playoffs, and the reason they did is because their captain tore his ACL at the start of training camp.

The world championships were Barkov's first action since then, and the Finnish captain showed the same strong two-way play that has earned him three Selke Trophies.

He finished with 11 points in 10 games and made the media All-Star team as one of the three forwards.

NHL youngsters put on good shows

San Jose Sharks star Macklin Celebrini, 19, was named the best forward after finishing second with 14 points. His backhand flip pass on Dylan Holloway's goal was a highlight of the tournament.

Konsta Helenius, 20, didn't see much action with the Buffalo Sabres and flew overseas after his team was eliminated in the second round. Two of his three goals in the tournament were game-winners for Finland, including the golden goal against Switzerland. That was a high-skilled play.

3-on-3 overtime not a good look

Would Helenius have made that play if overtime were 5-on-5, as it is in the NHL playoffs? Probably not. But that's the rule in international play.

It happened in the gold medal game for the men's and women's Olympics tournaments, and both games ended quickly. The world championships gold medal game lasted longer, but the NHL's recognition that overtime in important playoff games deserves to resemble regulation play seems the better way to go.

Canada was hurt by power play inefficiency

The Canadien power play success rate was 16.7%, which is low for a team featuring Celebrini, Sidney Crosby, John Tavares, Robert Thomas and more. The injury to Evan Bouchard hurt, but Canada wasn't able to score on that five-minute power play. The Canadians had opportunities in the losses to Finland and Norway but didn't connect.

Americans need better commitment to tournament

The world championships are always a tough sell for the USA. They take place in the playoffs and after a grueling 82-game regular season. Last year's gold medal team got bigger names because a chance to make the Olympic team was an incentive.

But that wasn't the case this year and there were only two returnees. The USA struggled early and though they played better after Matthew Tkachuk arrived and made the quarterfinals, they were overwhelmed by Canada in a 4-0 loss.

Maybe the 2028 World Cup of Hockey will provide incentive for next year's team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Five takeaways from the world hockey championships

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