Kraken Beniers, Daccord, Eyssimont Win Gold As USA Tops Switzerland (Update 29: May 25, 4 pm)

Eight Seattle Kraken players and one prospect are participating in the IIHF 2025 Men’s World Championship, May 9 to May 25, with games to be played in Sweden and Denmark.

Below the photos, results of each day’s games involving teams for which Kraken players are involved. Plus, details on individual performances of those Kraken players. So refresh this page during the tournament for the latest information.

Gold Medal Game: Sunday, May 25 – USA 1 Switzerland 0 (OT)

In a miscarriage of justice second only to the Dreyfus Affair – which, yes, I take personally – Team USA failed to start Kraken goalie Joey Daccord in the gold medal game against Switzerland. All USA netminder Jeremy Swayman was able to do was shut out the Swiss until 2:02 of overtime, when Tage Thompson scored the OT winner for USA’s first World Championship in 92 years.

Daccord, along with Kraken/Team USA teammates Matty Beniers and Mikey Eyssimont, will be bringing gold medals back to Seattle.

In the bronze medal game, Adam Larsson and Sweden beat Oscar Fisker-Molgaard and Denmark 6-2.

Semifinals: Saturday, May 24

USA 6
Sweden 2

Kraken forward Mikey Eyssimont picked a dandy time to score his first goal of the 2025 IIHF World Championship. Team USA and Seattle teammate Matty Beniers (image 1) carried the puck up ice. He found Eyssimont, the trailer (image 2), who settled the puck down before whipping it past Sweden goalie Jacob Markstrom to give USA a 4-0 lead.

Beniers and Eyssimont (image 3) shared a happy embrace, while Sweden defenseman Adam Larsson (image 4) wasn’t feeling the joy of his Kraken teammates. Eyssimont has used the World stage all tournament long to make his case for a new contract from Seattle GM Jason Botterill.

The third member of the Kraken on Team USA, Joey Daccord, again served as backup to Jeremy Swayman. Seattle defenseman Adam Larsson was on the losing side with Team Sweden.

Switzerland 7
Denmark 0

The magic five-game winning streak for Denmark, which included a massive quarterfinal upset of Team Canada, ended in a one-sided shutout to Switzerland. That also ended the championship hopes of Kraken prospect Oscar Fisker-Molgaard, who had a strong showing during the tournament.

The Swiss will play the USA in the Sunday (May 25) final starting at 11:20 am Seattle time. The game can be seen on NHL Network. USA hockey has won gold medals at the 1960 and 1980 Olympics, but hasn’t captured gold at the World Championships since 1933.

Quarterfinals: Thursday, May 22

Canada 1
Denmark 2

Playing before their home country fans, Denmark beat Canada 2-1, one of the great upsets in IIHF World Championship history. More remarkable, because Denmark lost its first three games, and needed a four-game winning streak in the preliminary round just to reach the quarterfinals.

This marks the end of the tournament for Kraken defensemen Brandon Montour (4 SOG, 16:07 TOI) and Ryker Evans (4:57 TOI), who represented Canada. Montour had the final two desperation whacks at goal, neither of which reached the net, as time expired.

But the dream ride of Kraken prospect Oscar Fisker-Molgaard (1 SOG, 13:20 TOI) continues, as Denmark improbably moves on to the semifinals. The Danes rallied for two goals in the final 2:15 to erase a 1-0 Canada lead.

USA 5
Finland 2

Above Photos: Finland’s Eeli Tolvanen shoots a power play goal past Kraken teammate Matty Beniers’ attempted block, then taken congrats for tying the game 1-1. But Beniers (10) and Team USA move on to the semis, as Kraken goalie Joey Daccord gives the victory hug to winning netminder Jeremy Swayman.

Kraken winger Eeli Tolvanen’s seventh goal of the tournament for Team Finland wasn’t enough, as Team USA skated into the World Championship semi-finals. Matty Beniers contributed one assist for the USA in 18:21 TOI, took two shots and was +1. Mikey Eyssimont skated 7:08, taking one SOG.

Switzerland 6
Austria 0
(Note: No Kraken players involved)

Sweden 5
Czechia 2

Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson took one SOG, finished +2, and skated 15:51 in Sweden’s victory. Sweden will play USA in one semifinal on Saturday. The other game will match Denmark and Switzerland.

May 20 Games Involving Kraken Players

Finland 2 (6-1-0, 16 points)
Slovakia 1 (2-4-1, 7 points)

Finland managed to squeak out a victory without heroics from the Kraken’s Eeli Tolvanen, who played 16 minutes and put three shots on goal.

USA 5 (6-1-0, 17 points)
Czechia 2 (6-1-0, 17 points)

Matty Beniers had his shooting skates on (okay, that’s not a real thing). Beniers had eight of Team USA’s 56 SOG while playing 16:28. Mikey Eyssimont got in on the act with three in 7:06 of ice time. Kraken goalie Joey Daccord served as backup.

Canada 5 (6-0-1, 19 points)
Sweden 3 (6-1-0, 18 points)

It wasn’t the best of games for the three Kraken defensemen. Ryker Evans recorded a secondary assist on the final Team Canada goal, took one shot, and was +1 in just 7:16 of ice time. Canada’s Brandon Montour bobbled a puck on a power play, leading to a Sweden shorthanded goal. He skated 16:53, took three shots, and was -1. Team Sweden’s Adam Larsson also finished -1 and didn’t have a SOG in 17:10 TOI.

In SO: Denmark 2 (4-3-0, 11 points)
Germany 1 (3-3-1, 10 points)

Oscar-Fisker Molgaard’s brainy assist helped Team Denmark tie the game midway through the 3rd period. From center ice, the Kraken prospect noticed teammate Nikolaj Ehlers – just arrived for the game from Winnipeg – sprinting down the far wing. Molgaard whipped a lead pass intentionally off the end boards. Ehlers picked up the “bounce pass” in stride and scored Denmark’s only regulation goal.

“That’s just a super-smart hockey play,” Ehlers told IIHF.com about Moelgaard’s set-up. “I’ve played with him before, and his hockey IQ is really, really nice. So to be able to make that play and see me coming on the side and not make the direct pass instead, that was awesome. I told him that as well. That was a special play.”

IIHF.com also made mention of Molgaard’s “scintillating spin play” to try and win the game in overtime.

Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer did all he could to lead Team Germany into the playoff round, making 26 saves on 27 Denmark shots through regulation and overtime. But Germany lost the shootout 2-0, knocking them from playoff contention.

May 19 Games Involving Kraken Players

In Shootout:
Canada 1 (5-0-1, 16 points)
Finland 2 (5-1-0, 13 points)

For the third time in the tournament, Kraken winger Eeli Tolvanen came up huge for Team Finland. This time, it was the winning shootout goal in Finland’s 2-1 win over Canada.

Forgoing fancy moves, Tolvanen cut between the circles and fired a laser over the shoulder of Canada goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, just inside the elbow where the crossbar meets the left post. The score, in the top of the third of a mandatory five-round shootout, put Finland ahead 2-1. Neither team could get another puck past Fleury or winning netminder Juuse Saros, giving the Finns the victory.

Anatomy of a shootout winner: In the top of the 3rd round, Eeli Tolvanen skates in from the right wing, sees net over the right shoulder of Marc-Andre Fleury, sends a rocket under the crossbar, and prepares for fist-bumps at the Team Finland bench.

Previous Tolvanen heroics included four goals in Finland’s 9-1 victory over Slovenia on May 15. Tolvanen scored twice in the final 1:33 of regulation to rescue his team from a two-goal deficit against France, both goals coming with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. Finland eventually grabbed a 4-3 win in overtime.

Germany 0 (3-3-0, 9 points)
Czechia 5 (6-0-0, 17 points)

Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer didn’t play in Germany’ s shutout loss to the defending World Champions.

Eyssimont’s Statement

If Seattle Kraken GM Jason Botterill wants Mikey Eyssimont back next season, he’ll have to offer a new contract to the pending free agent. What we do know is that Eyssimont has helped his chances as a sparkplug on Team USA’s 4th line.

May 18 Game Involving Kraken Players

USA 6 (5-1-0, 14 points)
Kazakhstan 1 (1-5-0, 3 points)

Matty Beniers scored, Mikey Eyssimont chipped in two assists, and Team USA made easy work of Kazakhstan. Eyssimont also took three shots and was +3 in just over 11 minutes TOI. Joey Daccord served as backup to Jeremy Swayman in the USA net.

Kraken Player Galleries From May 17 Games

May 17 Games Involving Kraken Players

Finland 2 (4-1-0, 11 points)
Latvia 1 (2-3-0, 6 points)

Eeli Tolvanen stayed hot, assisting on the eventual game-winning goal in the 3rd period, as Finland outlasted Latvia.

USA 6 (4-1-0, 11 points)
Germany 3 (3-2-0, 9 points)

For the first time since they both became Seattle Kraken in 2021, goalie partners Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer found themselves in opposite nets. Grubauer’s Team Germany gave up the first three goals, all in the 1st period, one on the power play. They switched ends, and now it was Daccord’s Team USA allowing three Germany goals, one on the power play (with Matty Beniers in the box).

58 seconds into the 3rd period, an innocent-looking shot with no Team USA traffic in front nevertheless caused Grubauer to double over in pain.

He put weight on only one leg at a time as he skated under his own power to the bench. Though he tried to return, “Grubi” was forced to get treatment after the next whistle.

Grubauer left the game for six minutes, so Team USA’s game-winning goal by Conor Garland was scored against Mathias Niederberger. Grubauer reclaimed his net, got scored on one more time, and USA added an empty-netter for the 6-3 final – with all nine goals scored into the same cage.

Grubauer finished with 33 saves on the 37 shots he faced. Winning USA goalie Daccord, who saved 18 of 21 Germany shots, told IIHF.com afterward, “I’m really grateful and appreciative to USA Hockey for giving me this opportunity, and I’m just trying to do my best to help the team win.”

Beniers didn’t have a shot on goal in 16:48 TOI, but Kraken teammate Mikey Eyssimont fired an impressive four SOG though he played just 8:30.

Sweden 4 (6-0-0, 18 points)
France 2 (0-5-1, 1 point)

Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson and his amazing Team Sweden mates have now won all six games they’ve played, and surrendered a grand total of three goals against. Larsson skated 22:01 with 2 shots. Team Sweden’s shutout streak stands at 186:56, not having been scored on since their 2-1 win over Finland four games ago.

Canada 7 (5-0-0, 15 points)
Slovakia 0 (2-2-1, 7 points)

Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour (5 shots, 19:18 TOI) opened the scoring on a one-timer, assisted by Sidney Crosby. They reversed roles in the 2nd period, with Montour assisting a Crosby goal. Montour’s nine points total is one off the tournament lead.

Another Kraken blueliner, Ryker Evans (1 shot, +3, 11:39 TOI), tallied a 1st period assist, his first point for Team Canada. Evans carried the puck over all three lines and into Slovakia’s zone, and dropped a no-look pass for Tyson Foerster’s snap-shot goal.

Denmark 6 (3-3-0, 9 points)
Norway 3 (0-5-1, 1 point)

Kraken prospect Oscar-Fisker Molgaard continues to impress, earning assists on the first two team Denmark goals. Molgaard has been rewarded with increased ice time, almost 19 minutes against Norway, putting five shots on net. For the tournament, he has six points in six games, as Denmark, after losing its first three, is now on a three-game winning streak before adoring home-country fans.

Tolvanen Speaks About His 4-Goal Game vs. Slovenia

(Quotes from IIHF.com) “Can’t remember the last time I scored four goals in a game. It was an important win, and a good game for our line and the team,” Tolvanen said.

One of his linemates, Teuvo Teravainen, collected six assists to tie an IIHF tournament record. “Teuvo had a pretty good day, I don’t think he missed a pass today. You have to be ready at all times playing with him, he can make plays that others can’t even see,” Tolvanen said.

“We skated and moved the puck well, and had those long cycles until someone was wide open at the back door,” he added. “We wanted to make sure we got off to a great start, and we got it today, and maybe that also took the edge off their game.”

May 16 Games Involving Kraken Players

Denmark 8 (2-3-0, 6 points)
Hungary 2 (1-3-0, 3 points)

To the delight of home country fans, Denmark won its second consecutive game. Kraken prospect Oscar-Fisker Molgaard contributed three 3rd period assists.

Sweden 4 (5-0-0, 15 points)
Slovenia 0 (0-4-0, 0 points)

Team Sweden has been dominant through five games, winning all in regulation, scoring 21 times, and allowing a TOTAL of three goals against. You know that last number is pleasing to Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson, who contributed an assist in Sweden’s shutout of Slovenia.

Remember we wrote about preliminary-round mismatches? How about Sweden recording a 60-9 shots on goal advantage. Larsson alone had six SOG in 19:27 of ice time.

May 15 Games Involving Kraken Players

Finland 9 (3-1-0, 8 points)
Slovakia 1 (0-4-0, 0 points)

What’cha gonna do, brother, when Tolvy-mania runs wild on you? If you’re Slovenia, grin and bear it. Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen scored all three goals of a hat trick for Team Finland within a 16 minute span of the 2nd period, then added a fourth in the final frame.

(1) On Tolvanen’s hat-trick goal, he makes like Bobby Orr, splitting the Slovenian defenders.
(2) In alone, he flips the puck past netminder Lukas Horak.
(3) The Kraken winger allows himself a smile after a 2nd period he’ll remember for a long time.
(4) By the time he’s accepting congratulations on his 4th goal, Tolvanen checks the scoreboard, probably because he’s lost count.

His six total goals at the Championship leads all skaters. But he only scored on half of his team-high eight shots on goal, so that’s something for Eeli to work on.

Germany 1 (3-1-0, 9 points)
Switzerland 5 (3-0-1, 10 points)

As the backup goalie, Philipp Grubuaer didn’t give up any goals – but Germany did, in its first loss of the tournament.

Canada 5 (4-0-0, 12 points)
Austria 1 (1-3-0, 2 points)

No surprise to Kraken fans that defenseman Brandon Montour is piling up the points for Team Canada. Montour had three assists as Canada fired at will, a 52-16 shots advantage in their win over Austria. (Some of these overmatched teams should drive their netminders to and from the games in an ambulance.)

The Canadians move to a perfect 4-0-0 in the preliminary round.

May 14 Games Involving Kraken Players

In OT: USA 6 (3-1-0, 8 points)
Norway 5 (0-3-1, 1 point)

Good news: USA beat Norway in overtime. Bad news: USA needed overtime to beat Norway, blowing a 5-1 lead they’d built 23 minutes into the game. Kraken fans can take comfort that Joey Daccord watched the almost-implosion from the safety of the USA bench as backup goalie. Matty Beniers (3 shots, 18:37 TOI) didn’t appeare on the scoresheet. Mikey Eyssimont was a healthy scratch.

Sweden 6 (4-0-0, 12 points)
Latvia 0 (2-1-0, 6 points)

Playing before the home fans in Stockholm certainly agrees with Team Sweden. They roared to their fourth consecutive regulation victory, allowing just three opposition goals in all those games combined.

Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson scored the fourth Sweden goal, and finished +3 in 19:32 TOI. Larsson’s long-rang slapshot was headed wide, until a series of perfect pinball bounces. The puck (1) hit traffic in the high slot, (2) caromed off the skate of Latvia’s Dans Locmelis, (3) glanced off the right post and (4) finally found its way over the goal line.

Denmark 5 (1-3-0, 3 points)
Kazakhstan 1 (1-3-0, 3 points)

Playing in front of its home fans, Team Denmark won for the first time. Kraken prospect Oscar Molgaard had one shot and played 16:44 in the victory.

May 13 Games Involving Kraken Players

Germany 5 (3-0-0, 9 points)
Norway 2 (0-3-0, 0 points)

Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer won his second game of the tournament, helping Team Germany stay perfect through three games. Grubauer stopped 29 of 31 Team Norway shots, raising his combined save percentage to .940 to go with a 1.50 goals-against average.

Canada 5 (3-0-0, 6 points)
France 0 (0-2-1, 1 point)

What’s better than assisting on a Sidney Crosby goal? Scoring one of your own – and against France, Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour did both for Team Canada. Like Montour, Ryker Evans took three shots, in 13 minutes TOI.

May 12 Games Involving Kraken Players

USA 0 (2-1-0, 6 points)
Switzerland 3 (2-0-1, 7 points)

Now Team USA knows how it feels.

After shutting out its first two opponents, USA was the team putting up a goose egg in their loss to Switzerland. Joey Daccord surrendered two 1st period goals and one more in the 3rd. Not making excuses for the Kraken netminder, but all three goals against were either complete screens or fluky bounces. He made 24 saves. Matty Beniers went without a shot on goal in 17:45 TOI. Mikey Eyssimont got off one SOG in 8:17.

“We just didn’t get to our game,” Beniers said to IIHF.com. “I think that one of our strengths is trying to dictate the game and trying to play fast. And I thought they controlled it better and played the game they wanted to play. They got it behind our D more than we did and made us play defense.”

Finland 1 (2-1-0, 5 points)
Sweden 2 (3-0-0, 9 points)

No repeat of last-minute magic for Eeli Tolvanen and Team Finland against their fiercest European rivals. Adam Larsson and Team Sweden gained a two-goal lead and held on for a 2-1 win, despite outshooting the Finns 41-19. Larsson’s defense corps have allowed just three goals in three games, all regulation victories in Stockholm.

Tolvanen had 2 shots in 15:12 of ice time. Larsson also had 2 shots in 21:44. From IIHF.com: “This marked the 70th all-time meeting between these great and ancient arch-rivals. Over that time, Tre Kronor holds a 42-12-16 record.”

Czechia 7 (3-0-0, 8 points)
Denmark 2 (0-3-0, 0 points)

Kraken prospect Oscar Fisker Mølgaard had two shots for Denmark in 16:39, as the Danes remained winless in front of their home fans.

May 11 Games Involving Kraken Players

In OT: Finland 4 (2-0-0, 5 points)
France 3 (0-1-1, 1 point)

Eeli Tolvanen will probably never have to buy his own Karelian Hot Pot in Finland again.

Team Finland was two minutes from an embarrassing upset loss to France (no offense, ex-Kraken Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who chipped in two assists). Then, Kraken forward Tolvanen skated to the rescue.

A Team France empty-net goal put Finland in a 3-1 hole; then the Finns pulled their goalie again. Tolvanen got Finland within one at 18:27, slamming in a rebound from the doorstep. The Finns pulled their goalie for a third time, and Tolvanen scored again. His equalizer – on a wrister from the inside edge of the right circle that knuckled in off Bellemare’s attempted block – came with 28 seconds left.

Just 1:24 into the extra session, Juuso Parssinen scored the game-winner – with an assist from Tolvanen, of course.

USA 6 (2-0-0, 6 points)
Hungary 0 (0-2-0, 0 points)

Kraken goalie Joey Daccord got the night off. Jeremy Swayman of the Bruins more or less did too, needing to make just 13 saves as Team USA hasn’t been scored upon through two games.

Matty Beniers took three of USA’s 39 shots in 18:04 of ice time, set up Cutter Gauthier in the 2nd period for the first of his two goals, and took a hooking penalty. Mikey Eyssimont skated just over 10 minutes.

Canada 7 (2-0-0, 6 points)
Latvia 1 (1-1-0, 3 points)

Add this to Brandon Montour’s bragging montage: he and Sidney Crosby assisted on the same goal. The Kraken defenseman’s slick slap-pass set up the first of two Kent Johnson scores in Canada’s wipeout of Latvia. Montour also took one shot of his own in 18:58 TOI. Ryker Evans played 8:44.

Germany 4 (2-0-0, 6 points)
Kazakhstan 1 (1-0-0, 3 points)

Philipp Grubauer got to enjoy Germany’s second victory from the bench as the backup netminder.

May 10 Games Involving Kraken Players

Canada 4 (1-0-0, 3 points)
Slovenia 0 (0-1-0, 0 points)

The distance between the top and bottom teams in this tournament is about equal to the distance between Seattle and Stockholm. The latter city is where Kraken defensemen Brandon Montour, Ryker Evans, and their Team Canada teammates had an easy time, outshooting Slovenia 44-11. Montour took two of those shots in 20:40 TOI, and contributed one assist. Evans played 8:53 with one SOG.

Sweden 4 (2-0-0, 6 points)
Austria 2 (0-2-0, 0 points)

Austria carried a 2-1 lead into the final three minutes, angling for one of those David vs. Goliath upsets that occasionally stun these competitions. Jonas Brodin at 17:41, Mika Zibanejad 12 seconds later, and former Kraken Alex Wennberg into an empty net prevented Team Sweden embarrassment in front of their home fans. Adam Larsson skated 19:45 on defense with one SOG.

Germany 6 (1-0-0, 3 points)
Hungary 1 (0-1-0, 0 points)

One day after Joey Daccord backstopped a shutout for Team USA, Kraken goaltending partner Philipp Grubauer almost did the same for Team Germany. Hungary’s Gergo Ambrus put the only puck past Grubauer with 11:31 to play. Playing in his 6th World Championship, “Grubi” made 18 saves.

Grubauer told IIHF.com an improving German team has an eye on the 2026 Winter Games. “You want to play at the Olympics, and you have another shot at playing at the Olympics. It’s going to be the first time for me and a couple guys. This group has been successful a couple of years ago. So it’s important to have a good tournament here, because I think most guys who made the team here are going to go to the Olympics, and then we move on from there.”

Switzerland 5 (1-0-1, 4 points)
Denmark 2 (0-2-0, 0 points)

Kraken prospect Oscar Molgaard scored one of Denmark’s two 2nd period goals, but his team remained winless in front of home fans at at the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning.

Seattle’s 2nd round choice in 2023 had a beauty of an individual effort to convert a shorthanded breakaway. Skating in alone from the red line, Molgaard slid across the crease before parking a backhand along the ice. Molgaard, who played 15:56, also had Team Denmark’s first shot on goal, which unfortunately didn’t come until 19 minutes had elapsed.

Molgaard also impressed with a late-season apprenticeship in Coachella Valley. Appearing in seven regular season games for the Firebirds, the 20-year-old forward scored two goals and one assist.

May 9 Games Involving Kraken Players

USA 5 (1-0)
Denmark 0 (0-1)

The Kraken contingent, as the kids like to say, showed out. Matty Beniers scored twice, Mikey Eyssimont flew up and down the ice and took the body, and Joey Daccord pitched a 26-save shutout. Although the Danes were badly outmatched – outshot 48-26 – Daccord was tested on several occasions.

Beniers, voted by his teammates as player of the game, worked hard for his first score. He won a faceoff, fought through traffic on his way to the net, and while battling with onetime Kraken Alexander True, tipped home Team USA’s third goal. Matty then finished the scoring with a 3rd period laser.

Three of Daccord’s saves came off the stick of Denmark’s Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Seattle’s 2nd round draft pick in 2023. Danish goalie Frederik Dichow was outstanding in defeat, making 43 saves, many spectacular, some at point-blank range without his goal stick. The game was played in Herning, Denmark.

Sweden 5 (1-0)
Slovakia 0 (0-1)

Defenseman Adam Larsson collected one assist, took on SOG, and obviously wasn’t on for any goals against in 22:02 of ice time. Playing in front of home fans in Stockholm, Team Sweden scored twice in the final 70 seconds of the 1st period and coasted from there.

Finland 2 (1-0)
Austria 1 (0-1)

All the goals were scored in the first 14 minutes. Eeli Tolvanen took three of Finland’s 28 shots in 19:39 TOI. (The real story was who he was shooting against.) “We had a pretty good start, and a good power play in the first period. They skated well and managed to take time and space away from us,” Eeli said in the IIHF game story.

Each side had a Tolvanen sibling in this game. Eeli’s brother, Atte, a naturalized Austrian, played well with 26 saves against the more powerful Finns – including those three against his brother. One was a Tolvanen-on-Tolvanen breakaway, which the goaltending brother won.

“Hopefully, there’s a photo of that somewhere,” Atte said. “I may have had some idea of what he would do, but he’s got so many moves that he can change it up anytime.”