Nathan Mackinnon, Canada eliminated from IIHF Worlds in shocking upset

Nathan MacKinnon was having a dominant run for team Canada in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship over in Europe. The Canadian superstar wasn’t hoping to play in this tournament for his country, as it coincides with the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but a blown lead late in Game 7 in the Western Conference First Round left MacKinnon with no other option.

Fast forward almost three weeks from that crushing loss against the Dallas Stars, and MacKinnon found himself in the same boat, just with a different sweater on this time.

Team Canada was a heavy favorite over Denmark, one of the host countries for the tournament, heading into the quarterfinals of the single-elimination stage of the tournament. Canada came out of the round robin stage as the top seed with a 6-0-1-0 record and a 34:9 goal differential, while Denmark barely squeaked into the quarterfinals with one more point than Germany.

Advantage, Canada. Right?

Nope.

In shades of Avalanche-Stars Game 7, MacKinnon’s team held a 1-0 lead with just over two minutes left to go in the game. A tying goal from Denmark with a 6-on-5 man advantage knotted the score with 2:17 on the clock before Denmark found the back of the net with just 48 seconds left to go. MacKinnon and the rest of the Canadian team had no answer as the fate of their tournament was flipped within minutes, and the score held strong until the final buzzer.

GAME. CHANGER. Nick Olesen sends @dkishockey through! 🇩🇰💥 #MensWorlds #IIHF pic.twitter.com/en6PBK4F9I

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 22, 2025

MacKinnon finished with four shots and no points in just over 23 minutes of ice time. For the tournament, he finished with 13 points (7G, 6A) in eight games and was a +9 during his time on the ice. Two of the goals were game winners, and one came on the power play. His seven goals are tied for first among all skaters in the tournament, and the assists are tied for 11th. The 13 points are tied for third.

In other news for Avalanche fans, Martin Necas and Team Czechia were also bounced in the quarterfinal round at the hands of Sweden, 5-2. Necas had one assist in the loss. For the tournament, he finished with three goals and four assists and was a +1 in his time on the ice.

Canada and Czechia were on a collision course to meet up in the quarterfinals, but Canada having one more point than Sweden caused them to be the No. 1 seed in Group A, shaking up the matchups. In hindsight, Canada and MacKinnon might have wanted that matchup against his Avalanche teammate.

The offseason now officially kicks off for those two, as they tried to squeeze out some more hockey after losing early in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The rest of the team has been at home watching ex-teammate Mikko Rantanen carry the Dallas Stars to the Conference Finals, and now MacKinnon and Necas can join them.

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