The 2015 IIHF World Championships are kicking off on Friday, May 1 for Preliminary Round action. The Leafs will be represented by two players. Leo Komarov will play for Finland, Richard Panik will play for Slovakia, and Jake Gardiner will play for the United States. Joakim Lindstrom will also play for Sweden, although it's unsure if he will return to the Leafs next season (likely not).
The tournament may mean something to Panik, who is a RFA with the Leafs this offseason, in search of a new deal.
All three of the U.S., Finland and Slovakia will play out of the same group, and are guaranteed at least one meeting.
The tournament holds clout in that the top eight teams are guaranteed Olympic status, while the rest are forced to play in for the final spots. For teams on the bubble like Slovakia and Switzerland, performance at this year's tournament must be successful.
The 16 participating countries are broken into two groups.
Group A (seed): Sweden (1), Canada (4), Czech Republic (5), Switzerland (7), Latvia (9), France (12), Germany (13), Austria (16).
Group B (seed): Finland (2), Russia (3), United States (6), Slovakia (8), Norway (10), Belarus (11), Slovenia (14), Denmark (15).
You can catch the majority of the tournament's games on TSN's various channels. For some added intrigue, keep an eye on United States forward Auston Matthews while you watch Jake Gardiner. If the Leafs fail to compete in 2015-2016, Matthews is the early consensus first overall selection.
Each of Komarov, Panik, Lindstrom and Gardiner's games are highlighted in the complete schedule below.
| Round | Group | Date | Visitor | Home | Location | Status |
| Preliminary | A | Fri, May 1 | Latvia | Canada | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Fri, May 1 | Finland | United States | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Fri, May 1 | Sweden | Czech Republic | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Fri, May 1 | Norway | Russia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sat, May 2 | Austria | Switzerland | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 6:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sat, May 2 | Denmark | Slovakia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 6:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sat, May 2 | Germany | France | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sat, May 2 | Slovenia | Belarus | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sat, May 2 | Czech Republic | Latvia | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sat, May 2 | United States | Norway | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sun, May 3 | Sweden | Austria | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 6:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sun, May 3 | Slovenia | Russia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 6:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sun, May 3 | Germany | Canada | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sun, May 3 | Slovakia | Belarus | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sun, May 3 | Switzerland | France | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sun, May 3 | Finland | Denmark | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Mon, May 4 | Sweden | Latvia | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Mon, May 4 | United States | Russia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Mon, May 4 | Czech Republic | Canada | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Mon, May 4 | Finland | Norway | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Tue, May 5 | Germany | Switzerland | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Tue, May 5 | Belarus | Denmark | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Tue, May 5 | France | Austria | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Tue, May 5 | Slovenia | Slovakia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Wed, May 6 | Latvia | Switzerland | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Wed, May 6 | Denmark | Russia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Wed, May 6 | Canada | Sweden | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Wed, May 6 | Norway | Slovakia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Thu, May 7 | France | Czech Republic | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Thu, May 7 | Belarus | United States | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Thu, May 7 | Germany | Sweden | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Thu, May 7 | Slovenia | Finland | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Fri, May 8 | Austria | Czech Republic | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Fri, May 8 | Norway | Slovenia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Fri, May 8 | Latvia | Germany | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Fri, May 8 | Denmark | United States | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sat, May 9 | Canada | France | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 6:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sat, May 9 | Russia | Belarus | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 6:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sat, May 9 | Latvia | Austria | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sat, May 9 | Slovakia | Finland | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sat, May 9 | Switzerland | Sweden | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sat, May 9 | Norway | Denmark | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sun, May 10 | Czech Republic | Germany | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sun, May 10 | United States | Slovenia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Sun, May 10 | Canada | Switzerland | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Sun, May 10 | Russia | Slovakia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Mon, May 11 | Austria | Germany | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Mon, May 11 | Belarus | Finland | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Mon, May 11 | France | Sweden | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Mon, May 11 | Denmark | Slovenia | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Tue, May 12 | Austria | Canada | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 6:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Tue, May 12 | Belarus | Norway | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 6:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Tue, May 12 | France | Latvia | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Tue, May 12 | Slovakia | United States | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT |
| Preliminary | A | Tue, May 12 | Switzerland | Czech Republic | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Preliminary | B | Tue, May 12 | Russia | Finland | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT |
| Quarter-final | Thu, May 14 | TBD | TBD | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 9:15 AM EDT | |
| Quarter-final | Thu, May 14 | TBD | TBD | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT | |
| Quarter-final | Thu, May 14 | TBD | TBD | ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava, CZE | 1:15 PM EDT | |
| Quarter-final | Thu, May 14 | TBD | TBD | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:15 PM EDT | |
| Semifinal | Sat, May 16 | TBD | TBD | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 9:15 AM EDT | |
| Semifinal | Sat, May 16 | TBD | TBD | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 1:15 PM EDT | |
| Bronze | Sun, May 17 | TBD | TBD | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 10:15 AM EDT | |
| Gold | Sun, May 17 | TBD | TBD | O2 Arena, Prague, CZE | 2:45 PM EDT |
