Winnipeg Jets winger Nino Niederreiter is heading to the World Championships to represent Switzerland according to a team release. The 30-year-old winger was traded to the Jets at the trade deadline for a second-round draft pick and scored six goals and 13 points in 22 games in Winnipeg. He also added a goal and four points in five playoff games, though the Jets were knocked out quickly by the Vegas Golden Knights.
This will be the seventh time Niederreiter represents his country at the World Championships, with his first appearance coming in 2010 when he was still a teenager. He has twice helped his underdog country win silver medals, with those coming in 2013 and 2018 respectively. Niederreiter played a big role on both of those teams, scoring nine points in ten games in 2018 and eight points in ten games in 2013.
- Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports Brad Hunt is also heading to the World Championships. The Colorado Avalanche veteran defenseman will be representing Canada for the first time at the age of 34. After bouncing between the NHL and AHL for much of his early pro career, Hunt became a full-time NHL skater in 2017-18 with the Vegas Golden Knights. He spent the next five seasons at the NHL level but split the 2022-23 campaign between the Avalanche and their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He is an offensive defenseman who scored ten points in 47 NHL games and had 21 points in 24 AHL games.
- Michael Carcone of the Arizona Coyotes will also join Team Canada at the World Championships, per a team release. Like Hunt, Carcone has been a terrific AHL player, but the 26-year-old winger has yet to make a mark at the NHL level. He scored 31 goals and 85 points in 65 AHL games for the Tucson Roadrunners, but had just three points in nine NHL games with the Coyotes this season. At 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, he is a small, but skilled, forward who could provide some scoring if given the opportunity.