The sun is peeking out more often and the snow has all but melted, but many Canadians still remain glued to their screens: the Stanley Cup Playoffs present the best hockey of the year, keeping Canada enthralled. Six of the 10 most-watched television programs in Canada in 2024 were playoff games.
This year, however, a different sport could capture the country’s attention: In less than 50 days, the World Cup will be co-hosted by Canada for the first time. And Canada’s men’s national team enter the tournament with the potential to get out of the group stage for the first time.
The Athletic understands your concerns, Canada: we know there are people who want to buy into Canada’s intriguing and oft-enthralling team, but don’t know where to start. Canada is a hockey country, and everyone has a favourite player. But it can be difficult to tune into a new sport without an understanding of who you should root for.
Thankfully, we’ve got a cheat sheet ready for you.
To get NHL fans ready for Canada’s World Cup, we’ve taken some of the best players in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs and added comparables in terms of style of play, background, and expectations within the national team.
Find your new favourite player, let us know in the comments who you’re interested in, and stay tuned for even more Canada-focused World Cup coverage coming soon.
Nathan MacKinnon is the man who made a case — once again — as the best player in the game this year. He’s wired differently. The Colorado Avalanche centre is an absolute dog on and off the puck. And with all the obsessions with chickpea pasta and driving at his teammates, MacKinnon backs it up when it matters. He has four straight 100-plus point seasons and a history of winning championships.
Nathan MacKinnon is a proven winner. (Brett Holmes / Getty Images)
If you love MacKinnon, you need to become familiar with Jonathan David. Not only is David the leading scorer in the history of Canada’s men’s national team (averaging a goal every 0.52 games for Canada), but David walks in rarified air because of how unique his attitude and mentality are. The 26-year-old strives for greatness but is constantly unbothered by pressure. And he faces more than his fair share of pressure playing club soccer for Italian giants Juventus. That’s pressure MacKinnon faced leading Canada at the Olympics.
David never says much. He does his talking on the pitch.
“John is always Jonathan David, you can’t rattle him,” Robyn Gale, Canada Soccer’s former mental and cultural manager, said in 2022. “He operates on his own rhythm.”
And like MacKinnon, David could end up winning important games for Canada on his own. If David scores a few goals in the World Cup, that should be enough to push Canada into the knockout round for the first time in the program’s history.
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Zoom out and Connor McDavid and Alphonso Davies share one unyielding similarity: they’re the household names. From the start of each game, both McDavid and Davies are the players many will likely be drawn to at first.
Each carries the weight of the country on their shoulders: McDavid as the leader for Canada’s Olympic team or as the hope to finally end Canada’s 33-year Stanley Cup drought with the Edmonton Oilers, or Davies as the face of a team at a home World Cup.
And this is all with good reason: both McDavid and Davies are prolific, generational talents. McDavid is trending towards becoming one of the best NHL players ever and Davies is already the best male player in Canadian soccer history. Both have played vital roles in winning trophies — whether it was McDavid scoring the winning goal in the Four Nations Face-Off or Davies exploding en route to Bayern Munich’s Champions League win in 2020 — but both are also striving for something bigger: McDavid is hunting his first Stanley Cup after losing two straight Stanley Cup Finals. And after scoring Canada’s first-ever goal in the men’s World Cup, Davies could give the country its first-ever men’s World Cup win.
All Nikita Kucherov does is produce at ridiculous rates: The Tampa Bay Lightning forward’s 1.28 points-per-game is seventh in NHL history. And yet somehow one of the game’s all-time premier playmakers doesn’t get talked about among the NHL’s greats.
Nikita Kucherov is one of the best playmakers around. (Mike Carlson / Getty Images)
And so if you’re a fan of players who constantly create offence with intelligence and skill and couldn’t be damned about the wider conversation, Tajon Buchanan is the Canadian player you need to follow. The right-midfielder can attack with pace, flair and a ruthlessness from wide areas. Whether it’s heading straight at goal or crossing to a teammate, when the ball is at Buchanan’s feet, scoring chances usually follow.
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Buchanan was Canada’s best player at the 2022 World Cup. The Villarreal man might not get referenced in conversation throughout Canada as much as Davies or David, but Buchanan is probably fine with that. He keeps to himself and doesn’t have time for extended media availabilities.
Tajon Buchanan is one of Canada’s most dangerous attacking threats. (Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)
Remember how little Kucherov cared during the 2024 All-Star Game skills competition? When his lack of effort at a meaningless crowd-pleasing stunt was booed in Toronto? What matters to Kucherov is the games themselves, and none of the noise around them. That’s Buchanan. But both can deliver in unprecedented ways during those games.
For the sake of this comparison, let’s not look at Sidney Crosby as one of the best and most decorated players ever, but a 38-year-old who is the uber-respected, consummate professional who can dictate games with composure. Crosby is a captain because of how he acts.
And that’s why Stephen Eustaquio was once Canada captain, and usually is in Davies’ absence. You’d be hard-pressed to find a stronger, more guiding and well-liked voice in Canada’s setup than Eustaquio.
Stephen Eustaquio challenges Lionel Messi for the ball. (Shaun Clark / Getty Images)
Whenever the pivotal central midfielder has the ball, the game slows down. Eustaquio can pick apart opposition midfields in the same way Crosby can pick apart teams from the low slot and behind the net.
Sure, Eustaquio might be a touch slower than he was during the 2022 World Cup, just like Crosby is now. But teammates still walk a little taller when both are around.
There are times when Kirill Kaprizov can be something of an up-and-down player and can be tough to get a read on. He does things his way. Kaprizov also suffered through an injury-plagued 2024-25 season.
But real heads know that the Minnesota Wild winger can drive offence in a way few players in the league can. His combination of speed and skill is lethal.
Kirill Kaprizov’s form fluctuates, but at his best, he is lethal. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
So, too, is Ismael Kone’s elite blend of pace and dribbling ability. Kone’s game has been up-and-down for Canada through 2024, but as of late, he’s transformed his approach and attitude with Sassuolo in Italy.
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If you like players who can create a moment of brilliance out of thin air as Kaprizov does, be prepared for Kone to grab your attention this summer.
Cole Caufield is about finding the back of the net, man, and finding it often. The Montreal Canadiens winger didn’t always get the respect he deserved, but eventually did receive all the right accolades through his first 50-goal season this year.
If you love your pure goalscorers, then learn the name Cyle Larin: once Canada’s all-time leading scorer, Larin struggled through recent spells in Spain and the Netherlands. But a recent move to Southampton in England’s second division has sparked him. Larin is banging in goals at will and is always in the right place (around the net) at the right time lately. With his form, he’s played his way back into the starting forward conversation for Canada.
Cyle Larin could start in attack for Canada this summer. (Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images)
Larin has scored crucial goals for Canada, fuelling their rise, just as Caufield has done for the Canadiens. This summer might not be any different.
Cale Makar is still the best NHL defenceman out there. The are a very small handful of defencemen who can win playoff games on their own, and Makar is at the top of that list. The skill and athleticism are simply at another level to the point that you could make a good case that Makar can be the most important player on his team.
Jesse Marsch is fortunate to have that kind of player, too: Moise Bombito is one of the best centre-backs in CONCACAF. His power, poise and athleticism are on par with Makar’s. And like Makar, Bombito could end up being Canada’s most important player come the World Cup. The most decisive moments in Canada’s tournament could be with Bombito at the wheel.
High risk, high reward: Evan Bouchard’s offence-first approach doesn’t scream “typical playoff-ready defenceman,” but few around Edmonton would complain if his puck movement and production help land the Oilers a Stanley Cup. There are defensive errors, sure, making Bouchard a wild card from the back end that many teams don’t have.
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And Canada has never had a centre-back like 20-year-old Luc de Fougerolles. He might be Canada’s most dynamic centre-back going forward with the ball. It’s easy to see him turning opposition forwards on their head and dribbling through his own half to set up a clever final pass. At a young age, De Fougerolles immediately became a favourite of Marsch’s: De Fougerolles’s second start for Canada was in the 2024 Copa America third-place game when he was just 18. He’s made errors with Canada, but you take them knowing the pay-off could be immense.
If you appreciate Bouchard’s ability to create a game-changing moment that might make you grit your teeth at the same time, you’ll be a fan of de Fougerolles, too.
There aren’t many players like the crafty, wiry and playmaking winger Mitch Marner. His perceived lack of size hasn’t stopped him from producing highlight-reel plays with the puck both with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Mitch Marner representing Canada at the Winter Olympics. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
The same goes for Marcelo Flores, the tiny winger. Flores burst into his first two appearances for Canada last month. Despite standing at just 5ft 4in (163cm), Flores tore apart both Iceland and Tunisia with fearless attempts on the ball. Canada don’t have another player of his dynamic dribbling capabilities.
When both are at their respective bests, it’s hard to take your eyes off them.
Despite being a first overall draft pick in 2018, Rasmus Dahlin has still gone unheralded on the Buffalo Sabres’ back end for years, but he’s come into his own as one of the game’s best defenders. His play from the blue line is a huge reason the Sabres broke their 14-season playoff drought.
Canada’s unheralded defender is Derek Cornelius. He first began playing for youth national teams at 15, and has bounced around in his club career through Germany, Serbia, Greece, Sweden and France. But the steady and intelligent presence now figures to be a starter for Canada at the World Cup.
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Hands up: How many Canadians watched eagerly as Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel rallied his team, down 1-0 in their first round series, by chucking fists with Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovský? How many would have banged on the glass as well had Hagel done the same during international tournaments, when he serves as the emotional driver for Canada? Hagel is one of the purest players in the league: he influences games with his work rate, two-way play and sheer guts. Hagel is one of the easiest players in hockey to root for, the way he sets the tempo for his team with his spirit.
For all of those reasons, Hagel fans should be drawn to Richie Laryea, Canada’s player of the year in 2025.
The Toronto FC defender was never the most touted player, but he’s risen to improbable heights with an indefatigable spirit. He throws precise tackles but has never been shown a red card. Laryea rises to the occasion with dogged energy, dragging his Canada teammates into the fight. He won’t cower when the pressure rises this summer.
Both are first-choice players for Canada internationally, despite not showing the most skill. But both are coaches’ — and soon to be fans’ — dream players.
They don’t make a lot of players like Lane Hutson and Niko Sigur. Both are small for their position: Hutson as a Montreal Canadiens defenceman and Sigur as both a right-back and a central midfielder. But both can embarrass the opposition with their footwork and insanely high IQ.
Niko Sigur is a versatile and intelligent player (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
If you’re into the diminutive Hutson’s incredible skating and offensive production, you’re probably a believer that “height doesn’t measure heart,” as Marcus Stroman once said. That should make you a fan of Sigur’s trickery on the ball and incredible drive and mentality this summer.
Mark Stone is not the flashiest of players. But flash isn’t for everyone. The Vegas Golden Knights forward personifies other elements. Leadership. Perseverance. Stone might not have wheels, but he’s effective defensively and tough as nails. He’s had a recent injury history, but that’s what forces him to push himself through deep into the playoffs with an ingrained sense of persistence.
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You’re likely going to see a lot of those elements from Alistair Johnston this summer. The scrappy left-back has come into his own playing in the rough-and-tumble Scottish Premiership and has even captained his legendary Scottish side, Celtic.
“I want to be the one in the middle of that scrum, protecting (teammates’) backs so that they’re not the ones getting hurt,” Johnston once told The Athletic of his style. “That’s something I treasure.”
After suffering through injuries all year, Johnston will return for the World Cup with the same physicality he’s shown all year. And he’ll end up returning to his spot as one of Canada’s emotional leaders.
Love a feel-good story about a key player coming back from a harrowing injury, as Gabriel Landeskog did in 2025? You should follow Liam Millar this summer.
Landeskog went 1041 days between NHL goals: Knee surgery in 2022 ended up leading to a subsequent cartilage transplant surgery. There were fears the classy forward’s career was over too soon. Instead, Landeskog heroically returned in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
If there’s anyone who knows what Landeskog went through, it’s Millar. After tearing his ACL in October 2024 with Hull City, the winger missed 11 months. Depression followed.
“I felt like I was nowhere. I didn’t know where I was at all times,” Millar told The Athletic in October 2025.
Yet like Landeskog, Millar has triumphantly returned — a testament to his own internal self-belief. The speedy attacker could end up becoming an X-factor for Canada off the bench at the World Cup. Very few of Canada’s wingers can place a shot from distance as accurately and as powerfully as Millar. And very few can do it with the same kind of emotion, knowing how quickly their career can turn.