WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Several players in the Florida Panthers organization are competing in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship, which started Friday in Switzerland.
Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov and Anton Lundell are playing for Team Finland.
WATCH BELOW: 5 Panthers participating in Ice Hockey World Championships
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Finland faces Germany in its first preliminary round game on Friday morning.
Team USA also kicks off preliminary round play Friday afternoon against Switzerland in Zurich.
Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk is among the Americans on the USA roster as he vies for the rare triple-gold.
This feat is when a hockey player wins the Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold Medal and World Championship in their career.
Tkachuk is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and recently won gold with the USA hockey team in the Milan Winter Olympics.
Only 30 players in hockey history have accomplished the feat, but Tkachuk would become the first American-born hockey player to win triple-gold.
Other Panthers competing in the games include Sandis Vilmanis for Team Latvia. Vilmanis logged 5 points in 19 games for the Panthers this past season.
Marek Alscher is playing for Team Czechia in the tournament.
Alscher made his NHL debut with the Panthers in the 2025-2026 season, notching 3 assists over 4 games.
The Hockey World Championship medal games for the teams that qualify are May 30-31.
