The Winnipeg Jets are exactly a month away from selecting 8th overall at the 2026 NHL Draft. While off-season questions and rumours continue to swirl around, the five Jets players at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland have all advanced to the semifinals. Each of the four quarterfinals games were competitive in their own ways, setting up the two intriguing semifinals matchups. A final reminder that the Jets Nation “year in review” series will start in June, but for now the focus continues to be the IIHF World Championship.

Ville Heinola and Team Finland kicked off the quarterfinals with a 4-1 win over Team Czechia. Heinola didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he continued to excel in his role as a “top 4” defenceman on this team. Heinola is tied for second on his team among defencemen with 6 points in 8 games.

At the same time as this game, Team Canada defeated their rivals, Team USA, in a tightly contested 4-0 win (with 2 empty net goals late). Mark Scheifele led the Canadians with 2 points (2 assists), while Gabriel Vilardi and Dylan DeMelo were held off the scoresheet. Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves was Canada’s player of the game after a stellar 34 save shutout.

The second “pair” of quarterfinals games featured Nino Niederreiter and Team Switzerland against Team Sweden. The host Swiss have been the overall best team in this tournament (as hosts), and that continued against a fairly young Swedish team. It was a rather physical game at times, but Switzerland managed to play their game and come out with a 3-1 win. Niederreiter didn’t get any points, but he continues to play like a veteran leader on this well-balanced team.

The final quarterfinals game featured two teams that probably weren’t expected to even make the quarterfinals. This was a very defensive game, and Norway managed to hold on for a 2-0 win. Shots on goal were even for most of the game, but after Latvia’s push in the 3rd, the final shots on goal were 35-24 for Latvia. With this win, Norway is headed to the semifinals at the IIHF World Championship for the first time in their history.

After these four quarterfinals games on Thursday, the stage is set for the semifinals on Saturday. The first semifinals game will feature Nino Niederreiter and Team Switzerland against Team Norway. Switzerland will be big favourites in front of their home fans, but this Norway team has been nothing short of great this tournament. Norway is now 6-2 overall in this tournament, with both of their losses being one goal games.

The second semifinals game is a rather “familiar” matchup between Team Canada and Team Finland. These two countries always seem to meet in the semifinals at the biggest hockey tournaments of the year, and that will be the case again on Saturday. Scheifele and Vilardi both have 7 points in 8 games now, and Dylan DeMelo’s ice time for Canada will be increased for the rest of the tournament, as right-handed defenceman Evan Bouchard was injured early in Canada’s 4-0 win.

Looking ahead to Sunday, both the 3rd place and championship games look like they will be fantastic matchups. Team Switzerland would love to win it’s first Gold Medal as the host country, Team Canada wants another championship to add to their grand total, Team Finland would like to add a 5th title, and Team Norway’s “legacy run” at this tournament could be capped off with their first ever medal at this tournament.

Make sure to catch the action on TSN on Saturday and Sunday, as it will be a great weekend of hockey that will serve as a transition into the start of next week for the Stanley Cup Finals.

Nino Niederreiter and Team Switzerland’s semifinals will be against a young and surprisingly successful Norway team at 9:20 am CT. Mark Scheifele, Gabriel Vilardi, Dylan DeMelo and Team Canada will take on Ville Heinola and Finland tomorrow at 1:00 pm CT. The 2026 IIHF World Championship finals will be on Sunday, May 31st at 1:20 CT, with at least one Jets player guaranteed to be playing in this final game.

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