2023 World Championships Begin Friday, Kings With 4 Representatives

The season continues for four members of the LA Kings organization, with several players within the organization set to play at the 2023 IIHF World Championships, which begin tomorrow in Finland and Latvia.

The United States will have two Kings representatives, while Slovakia and Sweden each having one member of the Kings participating at the event. Two of those players played with the Kings this season, while two more were exclusively with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, though all four players are under contract with the organization heading into the 2023-24 season.

The structure of the tournament is ever-changing, but this season it consists of 16 teams, divided into two groups of eight. Each team will play in seven games during pool play, with four of eight teams advancing from each group into the quarterfinals. From the quarterfinals through the gold-medal game, it will be a single-elimination tournament and each team that participates in the semifinals will have the opportunity to play for a medal of some variety.

The tournament begins this morning on Pacific time, this afternoon in Finland and Latvia, running through May 28. A full look below at the four Kings representatives at the event.

Group A
United States
The USA will have two Kings representatives – goaltender Cal Petersen and forward T.J. Tynan.

Both took part in the team’s exhibition contest against Team Germany and the tournament will begin for the United States on the first day of competition, tomorrow, against the Group A hosts, Team Finland. The US will conclude pool play against another perennial powerhouse, Team Sweden, with five games against European nations in between.

May 12 vs. Finland
May 14 vs. Hungary
May 15 vs. Germany
May 17 vs. Austria
May 20 vs. Denmark
May 21 vs. France
May 23 vs. Sweden

Both players are returning participants, as Petersen played in the tournament in 2021, while Tynan was on the 2022 roster. Petersen was selected as the tournament’s best goaltender as he helped lead his team to a bronze medal. Tynan had five assists from six games played last season, as Team USA finished fourth. Tynan skated as the team’s second-line center during the exhibition contest, while Petersen split time in net. Will see how their roles play out over the next couple of weeks.

Sweden
For the second consecutive season, Kings forward Carl Grundstrom will represent Team Sweden at the World Championships.

Grundstrom was a late addition a season ago, joining the team mid-tournament after the Kings were eliminated in Game 7, as the playoffs began later due to the originally scheduled break for the Olympics. Grundstrom’s turnaround last season was immensely quick and he posted two points (1-1-2) from five games played in the 2022 edition, as Sweden lost in the quarterfinals.

Team Sweden’s schedule is as follows –

May 12 vs. Germany
May 14 vs. Austria
May 15 vs. Finland
May 18 vs. Hungary
May 20 vs. France
May 21 vs. Denmark
May 23 vs. United States

Grundstrom will be in the lineup this year from the beginning, which should help him to establish more of a role and get into his game right off the hop. He’ll take on Petersen and Tynan in the finale of group play, with a rivalry game against Team Finland coming midway through the tournament. Grundstrom will be teammates with former Kings defenseman Christian Folin, as well as a few other NHL’ers.

Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUT, Photo by HEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images

Group B
Slovakia
The Kings also have one player skating in Group B – forward Martin Chromiak – who will represent Slovakia for the first time at the senior level.

Chromiak skated for his country at the 2021 World Junior Championships and was slated to do so again at the 2022 edition, though the event was cancelled after he netted two goals in his first game. An illness kept him out of the rescheduled tournament after he started off the original event strong. Chromiak has skated in a few exhibition games for Slovakia and was included on the team’s final roster headed into the tournament. A strong opportunity to build off of a strong rookie season at the upcoming event.

Team Slovakia’s schedule is as follows –

May 12 vs. Czechia
May 13 vs. Latvia
May 15 vs. Canada
May 18 vs. Switzerland
May 19 vs. Kazakhstan
May 21 vs. Slovenia
May 23 vs. Norway

Chromiak will skate in rivalry games against Czechia and Slovenia at both ends of the schedule, starting with the Czechia game to open the tournament. Terrific opportunity for one of the younger players in the prospect pool, coming off of an impressive AHL debut, to carry some additional momentum heading into the offseason.

Much of the tournament will be broadcast here in the United States on NHL Network. A full schedule for NHL Network is available HERE. Included in the currently available NHL Network schedule are Team USA’s tournament opener against Finland and second game versus Hungary. The puck drops for the latter at, checks listing, 2 AM Pacific. 10 Insider Points to anyone who either stays up or wakes up for that one and provides a game story.

Hope to have some coverage from the tournament on at least a couple of the Kings participants as we move throughout the event. More to follow on that front as we progress!