Three Calgary Flames capture gold at the World Championships with Canada

A trio of Calgary Flames are leaving Europe with some shiny hardware. Team Canada – featuring Calgary Flames players MacKenzie Weegar, Milan Lucic and Tyler Toffoli – captured the gold medal at the 2023 IIHF men’s World Championships on Sunday via a 5-2 victory over Germany.

In the gold medal game, Weegar had an assist and was even in 25:11. Lucic was even in 14:42. Toffoli had a goal and was even in 12:19.

Overall, Weegar captured three honours at the tournament. He was named one of Canada’s top three players for the tournament, was voted to the tournament all-star team, and was named the tournament’s top defender. In 10 games, he had 11 points, leading his team, and was plus-10 while averaging 22:50 per game. Suffice it to say, Weegar was excellent in this tournament, and it hopefully sets him up for a strong summer of training (and a strong 2023-24 season).

Lucic had four points and plus-3 in 12:13 per game, while Toffoli had six points and plus-3 in 15:41. Also receiving medals – and deservedly so – are public relations ace Sean Kelso and athletic therapist Kent Kobelka, who both added international duties to their usual packed season schedules.

Flames prospect Matt Coronato and the United States finished fourth, losing the bronze medal game to Latvia in dramatic fashion 4-3 in overtime. Flames prospect Kristians Rubins scored late to send the game to overtime, then scored in overtime to help Latvia capture their first-ever World Championships medal.

Coronato had eight points and plus-5 in 14:10 per game in 10 games for the USA. Rubins had two points and even in 18:35 per game in four games for Latvia. Rubins joined Latvia late after the Calgary Wranglers were eliminated from the AHL’s post-season, but his impact was massive. He probably won’t be buying another drink in Latvia for awhile given the seismic importance of this bronze medal to Latvian hockey.