Eight Kraken, plus head equipment manager Jeff Camelio and prospect Oscar Molgaard, begin play Friday and Saturday in Stockholm, SW, and Herning, DK, at 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship
During this past season, Jeff Camelio was honored with a roaring ovation and a touching video played on the Climate Pledge Arena twin boards to mark his 2,000th regular season game as an NHL equipment manager, including the last four as head man for the Kraken. That’s a lot of games and loading up an equipment truck to head straight to the arena or practice facility, home and away, at a decent arrival time or middle of the night. That two grand doesn’t include postseason play nor preseason, so no wonder on any road trip he can be spotted in the hotel gym keeping fit and trim.
Camelio’s world-class can-do attitude helps a lot, proving just another reason why Team USA named him head equipment manager at the 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men’s World Championship, which opens Friday with Team Denmark hosting the well-equipped Americans in Herning, DK for the Group B round-robin tourney while Group A is in Stockholm, SW. The top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals on May 22, with the semifinals and medal games slotted for that weekend, May 24 and May 25.
Three Kraken players will be in Herning alongside their fellow American and beloved equipment manager: Center Matty Beniers, winger Mikey Eyssimont, and goaltender Joey Daccord. Eyssimont clearly showed his defensive prowess and offensive upside coming over to the Kraken at the NHL trade deadline. It’s his third straight year making the Team USA roster. Beniers has significant international experience, winning gold in 2021 as the youngest USA player at the IIHF World Juniors Championship and appearing in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Daccord, likely to platoon with Boston’s Jeremy Swayman in group play, was selected to represent the U.S. for the first time. He was delighted with the news after the NHL regular season: “I am super excited, honored, grateful and proud to be playing for Team USA,” said Daccord Tuesday. “It has always been a dream of mine to represent my country on the biggest stages. I could not be more humbled by this incredible opportunity. I’m looking forward to getting going.”
Home-Nation Thrill for Molgaard
The four Americans and the teammates open up against Team Denmark, which includes Kraken prospect Oscar Fisker Molgaard. The 2023 second-round pick, who impressed in seven games with AHL Coachella Valley this spring, is thrilled about the Worlds himself.
When Denmark last hosted the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Men’s World Championships in 2018, Molgaard was 13 years old. Friday, Molgaard and his teammates face Team USA at the 11,000-capacity Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning (NHL Network is covering the tournament, puck drop is 11 a.m. Pacific).
“That’s been a goal of mine since I was younger,” said Molgaard. “Back in 2018, during the Worlds, I told my parents I wanted to be a part of it when it came back to [Denmark] again in ’25. It’s always been a goal I’ve been working towards. To finally be here, it’ll be huge with friends and family in the stands, an incredible experience.”
D-Men Montour, Evans on Canada Roster
Kraken defenders Brandon Montour and Ryker Evans, who played as a pair quite a bit this past season, are both playing for Team Canada. It will be the first international appearance for Evans and the second time for Montour, who has been widely mentioned as a potential candidate to play for Canada in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan next February. Canada opens Group A play in Stockholm against Slovenia with a puck drop of 4:40 a.m. Pacific (ouch). The Canadians are loaded with NHL stars and fellow Nova Scotia natives Sidney Crosby and Nathan McKinnon among the forwards group, with goalie Marc Andre-Fleury making a last hurrah in Worlds play.
On Friday, Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson and Sweden play 11:20 a.m. game versus Slovakia in Stockholm’s Group A. Larson has deep international experience and will play in front of NHL goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Germany and its NHL goaltender, the Kraken’s Philipp Grubauer, open Group B play Saturday in Herning, facing Hungary (8:20 a.m. start) while Finland and Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen being Group A play Friday’s opener in Herning (4:20 a.m. puck drop).
It all adds up to plenty of high-level hockey for nine players in the Kraken fold, plus the aforementioned Camelio. Group A includes Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden. That translates to Montour and Evans looking to shut down Tolvanen, among other matchups.
Group B features Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Norway, Switzerland, and USA. That means Daccord and Grubauer could face each other net during the qualifying round.
For all of the action, check our daily Worlds 25 on the Kraken website and app.
