The Toronto Maple Leafs may have seen their season come to a disappointing end last month. But it appears as though the hockey season isn’t over just yet for a few of the Leafs players. With the 2026 IIHF World Championship set to begin this Friday, it is a tournament that often includes players that were part of NHL teams that had been eliminated from the playoff picture.
In this year’s version, Toronto has some big-name players from their 2025-26 roster that will be participating in the tournament. As a result, we will take a look at 4 Maple Leafs that we should keep an eye on in the upcoming World Hockey Championship.
Joseph Woll, Team U.S.A.
The 2025–26 NHL season was certainly a year worth forgetting for Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll. After forming a strong 1a and 1b tandem with Anthony Stolarz the previous year in leading Toronto to the second round of the NHL Playoffs, Woll struggled to a 15-16-7, 3.31 GAA, and .899 save percentage. Those numbers were easily his worst numbers that he had put up in a season so far in his NHL career.
Nevertheless, Woll now has the chance to redeem himself with a strong showing in the upcoming hockey tournament. With Team U.S.A. having the 27-year-old Leafs goaltender, along with Devin Cooley of the Calgary Flames and Drew Commesso of the Chicago Blackhawks forming their preliminary goalie roster, look for Woll to take the reigns and lead the way for the Americans.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Team Sweden
Oliver Ekman-Larsson sure was a renaissance with the Maple Leafs this past season. Turning back the clock to some extent, Ekman-Larsson was actually one of the Leafs’ top performing defenseman from their 2025-26 campaign. The 34-year-old veteran posted eight goals and 31 assists for 39 points, 70 PIMs and a -6 in 78 games with Toronto to lead the team in scoring among defenseman this past year. More importantly, he showed that he could also be a solid defender still at his age as the same time.
The strong play of Ekman-Larsson had already earned him a spot previously with Team Sweden for the 2026 Olympics. Now, the Maple Leafs will be back at it to represent his country once again at the 2026 World Championship and will likely take upon a bigger role this time around as the experienced veteran in the group.
Morgan Rielly, Team Canada
Despite recording his third-ever double-digit goals campaign with 11, Morgan Rielly struggled to quite an extent with his defense with the Maple Leafs this past season. Not only did Rielly register a -18 for his second-worst mark ever in a Leafs’ uniform, he posted a 48% CF%, 49% expected goals rate, along with giving up a whopping 78 goals in 5-on-5 situations, which was the most he had given up in his career. That worrisome performance inadvertently put his future with the Maple Leafs in doubt as well.
For those suspecting that Rielly is already on the decline, he will now have the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong at the 2026 World Championship. The 32-year-old defenseman last played in the tournament back in 2016 where he helped Team Canada win a gold medal in the process. As a result, Rielly will be looking to continue that success at the international stage once again this year.
John Tavares, Team Canada
Finally, we have the ageless wonder from the Leafs this past year in John Tavares. For many that expected the 35-year-old to take a step back this season, Tavares showed that he still got plenty of game left in him by recording 31 goals and 40 assists for 71 points for his eighth career 30+ goals season. More notably, he also proved to be quite durable as well as he became the only Maple Leafs player to suit up in all 82 games in 2025-26.
In joining Team Canada for the 2026 World Hockey Championship, Tavares was named alternate captain along with former Leaf Ryan O’Reilly in support of rising superstar Macklin Celebrini, who will be the captain of the squad. After missing out in playing for his country in the Olympics this past February, look for Tavares to make the most of his opportunity to help Canada to glory this time around.
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