AHL alumni shine at worlds as Calder Cup playoffs tighten

Connor Brown and Jet Greaves put an AHL stamp on opening day in Switzerland, and they did it in one of the tournament’s most recognizable matchups. Brown scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Dylan Cozens added the insurance as Canada beat Sweden 5-3 in the nations’ 71st meeting, while Greaves turned aside 22 shots to hold off a Swedish push that had tied the game 3-3. It was also the first time Canada and Sweden opened a World Championship against each other since 1961 in Geneva, when Canada won 6-1.

Finland answered with its own AHL-flavored statement in Zurich. Jesse Puljujärvi scored the decisive third-period goal and Aatu Räty also found the net in a 3-1 win over Germany at Swiss Life Arena, with Aleksander Barkov recording an assist in his first official game action since Florida’s 2025 Stanley Cup run. The 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship runs through May 31, and the first day already showed how often familiar AHL names become the difference when the international game tightens.

That same sense of pressure is now sitting over the Calder Cup Playoffs. Chicago’s 2-1 Game 1 win over Grand Rapids swung the Central Division final immediately in its favor, with Josiah Slavin breaking a 1-1 tie 6:48 into the third period off a setup from Joel Nyström. Cayden Primeau’s numbers through his first six playoff starts, a 4-2 record, a 2.07 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage, have given Chicago a steady edge in a series that has already turned on one late goal and one strong save after another. Michal Postava’s 30-save effort kept Grand Rapids in it, but the Griffins now have to chase the series instead of dictating it.

Toronto’s postseason story carried a different kind of weight, one that points straight at the organization’s future. Ben Danford, the Maple Leafs’ 2024 first-round pick, made his AHL debut in the Marlies’ Game 1 win over Cleveland, and John Gruden said the 20-year-old “skates extremely well,” is smart, strong and physical, and got stronger as the game went on. With Easton Cowan also part of the run, the Marlies are using the playoffs as both a bid for wins and a test of how quickly their next wave can handle the heat.