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Kevin Fiala selected as MVP of World Championships as Kings take home 3 medals

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Good showing from the LA Kings at the 2024 IIHF World Championships, which came to a conclusion here earlier today in Czechia.

Kevin Fiala and Team Switzerland advanced to the gold-medal game against the host nation and although he came up short, Fiala left with a ton of hardware from the event. Fiala and his teammmates won a silver medal, tying the best ever performance for his country when playing in the top division. 2024 marked the second time in Fiala’s career that he has played in the gold-medal game at the World Championships, adding a second silver medal to his collection after earning his first in 2018.

On an individual front, after joining the team for its third game of the tournament, Fiala collected 13 points (7-6-13) from eight total games played. His 13 points ranked second in the tournament and the highest total of any player who earned a medal. Fiala was recognized with several honors following the tournament’s conclusion. He was named as the Most Valuable Player of the event, as well as the tournament’s Best Forward. Fiala was voted by the media to the tournament’s All-Star Team and was selected as a Top-3 Player on Team Switzerland, which was announced after his team’s win over Canada in the semifinals. Fiala is the second player ever from Switzerland to be named as the tournament MVP.

As for the entire LA Kings contingent, the other three participating players from the organization squared off in this morning’s bronze-medal game. Adrian Kempe and Carl Grundstrom, representing their native Sweden, were ultimately victorious over Pierre-Luc Dubois and Team Canada, in a game in which all three players made an impact.

Grundstrom was the story of the game, as he scored twice in the bronze-medal game, including the game-winning goal, to power Sweden to the bronze medal. Grundstrom concluded the tournament with three goals in total, but was selected as his team’s best player in the bronze-medal game victory. Kempe was held scoreless in his final game, but totaled six assists from ten games in the tournament as a whole, one shy of the team lead during the event.

“It feels really good,” Grundstrom said after the bronze-medal game. “It’s always nice to finish off the season here with a win, so it’s a great feeling.”

Sweden will host next season’s event on home soil.

Dubois scored in the bronze-medal game against Sweden to cap off a strong individual tournament, with nine points (5-4-9) from ten games played. He ranked third on Team Canada in scoring throughout the event and was the only player on his team with 4+ goals and 4+ assists over the ten games he skated in. Ultimately, Team Canada came up short, finishing in fourth after defeats to Fiala’s Switzerland yesterday and then Sweden today.

“The really tough loss was last night because we wanted to be playing for a gold medal today, but we also wanted to win our last game and bring home a bronze medal. Today stings but the semifinal stings a lot too,” Dubois said, via Hockey Canada. “Every time you come [to the world championship], you meet unbelievable people. Some are new and some are players that you have met before, and I had an unbelievable time with this group. After a month together, it is tough to be so close to playing in the gold medal game but losing in a shootout.”

The quartet of Kings will now return to their respective summer homes to begin their time off. For Fiala, he’s a new father, so he’ll get some well-deserved family time. Dubois understands the summer ahead of him and is likely to spend the bulk of his time in the Los Angeles area as he looks to get his Kings career back on track after a disappointing first season. A good individual showing at the World Championships is a nice first step. Grundstrom is a pending restricted free agent this summer while Kempe is both signed and coming off a strong season. Business as usual for Juice, as the final Kings-adjacent hockey until September now comes to a close.

Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Photo by Andrea Branca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Photo by Andrea Branca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Photo by RvS.Media/Robert Hradil/Getty Images

Photo by RvS.Media/Monika Majer/Getty Images

Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Photo by RvS.Media/Robert Hradil/Getty Images

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