With the Arizona Coyotes missing the post-season yet again, many players chose to represent their home countries at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. The Coyotes were well-represented at the tournament, both on the ice and behind the bench.
Team Canada won gold yesterday, their 28th win of the series, while Germany walked away with the silver medal, and Latvia claimed their first medal in team history with the bronze.
The Coyotes organization made up a big part of Team Canada. Lawson Crouse, Jack McBain, and Michael Carcone all played significant minutes while bench boss André Tourigny coached the team, and Shane Doan served as an assistant GM.
All three players had excellent tournaments. Lawson Crouse led all Canadian forwards with nine points (six goals and three assists), while Michael Carcone had an impressive three goals and three assists and Jack McBain finished with two goals and two assists.
The tournament is not only a chance for players to represent their home country and stay in competitive shape; it is an excellent opportunity to show their NHL teams what they can do. Arizona locked Crouse up long-term, but Jack McBain is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, and unless he is re-signed, Carcone will become an unrestricted free agent.
Carcone had a great season with the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL but only played nine games with the Coyotes, but his performance at the tournament could be enough to earn him a contract with the Desert Dogs or a shot at the NHL with another team.
Coyotes’ prospect Maksymilian Szuber also earned a medal, winning Silver with Team Germany. The Coyotes drafted the defenseman in the sixth round last year, and after an entire season in EHC München, he scored a goal in the tournament. We likely won’t see Szuber in North America for a few more years, but he seems to be developing well, and winning a medal should boost his confidence moving forward.
Also playing in the tournament were defenseman Connor Mackey (1 goal, 2 assists) for Team USA, defenseman Patrik Nemeth (1 goal, 1 assist) for Team Sweden, goaltender Karel Vejmelka (94.35 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against average) and defenseman Ronald Knot (0 goals, 0 assists) for Team Czechia, defenseman J.J. Moser (1 goal, one assist) for team Switzerland, forward Miloš Kelemen (0 goals, 1 assist) for Team Slovakia, and defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg (0 goals, 0 assists) for Team Norway.