Panthers Will Have 5 Players, 5 Staff Members Participating At 2026 IIHF World Championship

There will be a plethora of Florida Panthers participating in the IIHF World Championships this month.

As players are making their way to Switzerland for the annual hockey tournament, several members of the Panthers, to include five players and five staff members, will be representing their respective countries.

Florida captain Sasha Barkov and fellow centerman Anton Lundell will be suiting up for Team Finland.

For Barkov, the tournament will be some of the first true game action he’s seen since last year’s Stanley Cup Final.

Barkov suffered a serious knee injury during training camp in September and missed the entire 2025-26 NHL season while recovering from surgery.

Representing the United States will be Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.

Tkachuk will be seeking to become the first American hockey player to join the Triple Gold Club.

The three ‘golds’ are an Olympic gold medal, a Stanley Cup win and an IIHF World Championship gold medal.

Earlier this year, Tkachuk helped the United States win their first Olympic gold since 1980. In the two Junes before that, he won a pair of Stanley Cup titles with the Panthers.

Now we’ll see if he can help Team USA win their second straight World Championship gold.

If they do, Tkachuk will also become the first player in NHL history to win all three legs of the Triple Gold Club in a 12-month span.

Joining Tkachuk with Team USA are Panthers Assistant General Manager Brett Peterson, who is the GM for the US at the tournament, along with Florida Head Equipment Manager Teddy Richards and Head Athletic Trainer Dave DiNapoli.

Panthers GM Bill Zito is serving on the team’s advisory group.

Representing Latvia at Worlds will be 22-year-old Panthers forward Sandis Vilmanis.

Coming off an impressive 19-game NHL debut this season, Vilmanis will suit up for his country for the second time this year, also playing for Team Latvia during the 2026 Winter Olympics.