Top 5 Performances by Oilers Players at the World Championship

The 2026 IIHF World Hockey Championship gets underway on Friday (May 15) in Switzerland. Five members of the Edmonton Oilers will be representing their nations at this year’s tournament: forwards Isaac Howard (United States) and Josh Samanski (Germany), along with defencemen Evan Bouchard (Canada), Mattias Ekholm (Sweden), and Darnell Nurse (Canada).

It’s been a while since any Edmonton players have competed at the World Championship. They haven’t been available the last few years, because the Oilers have still been alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the time of the annual May event.

Over the history of the franchise, however, many Oilers have played at the World Championship. Here are five standout performances from Edmonton players at the tournament:

Wayne Gretzky, Canada, 1982

Making the only IIHF World Championship appearance of his illustrious career, centre Wayne Gretzky led all players at the 1982 tournament in Finland with 14 points. Over 10 games with Team Canada, the Brantford native totalled six goals and eight assists.

Gretzky’s best performance came in a 6-0 victory over Sweden in the final round, when he racked up five points as Canada clinched bronze.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Gretzky was one of three forwards selected to the Media All-Star Team.

Dave Manson, Canada, 1993

Dave Manson was selected to the Media All-Star Team at the 1993 World Championship in Germany, after recording three goals, seven assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus of plus-13 over eight games.

With 10 points, the Prince Albert native led defencemen and tied for third among all players at the tournament. At that time, he was just the fourth Canadian blueliner to record double-digit points in a single World Championship.

Despite Manson’s tremendous play, Canada just missed out on the podium, finishing fourth with a 5-1 loss to the Czech Republic in the bronze medal game.

Bill Ranford, Canada, 1994

Backstopped by Bill Ranford, Canada ended a 33-year gold medal drought at the 1994 World Championship in Italy.

Appearing in six games for Team Canada, the Oilers goaltender had a record of 6-0, while registering a 1.17 goals-against average and save percentage of .956. He was named Best Goaltender of the Tournament and selected to the Media All-Star Team.

The Brandon product stood on his head in the final against Finland, allowing just one goal in regulation and overtime. The game went to a shootout, where Ranford stopped four of Finland’s six attempts, clinching victory for Canada with a save on Mika Nieminen.

Tommy Salo, Sweden, 1999

Sweden won bronze at the 1999 World Championship in Norway, thanks largely to Tommy Salo, who was named best goaltender by the IIHF tournament directorate and selected to the Media All-Star Team.

The Surahammar native averaged a minuscule 1.84 GAA and posted a stellar .921 SV% while going 5-3 over eight games.

In the third-place game, Salo held off a late flurry from Canada as Sweden secured a podium finish with a 3-2 victory.

Taylor Hall, Canada, 2015

In 2015, Taylor Hall helped Canada capture gold to end a six-year medal drought at the World Championship.

Hall scored the winning goal against the host team from the Czech Republic in the semi-final, as Canada clinched its first medal since 2009.

Over 10 games at the 2015 World Championship, Hall scored seven goals and added five assists, tying for third among all players with 12 points. The Calgary product was selected as a Media All-Star at forward.

Will any of the current Oilers deliver a World Championship performance worthy of being added to this list? We’ll find out over the next couple weeks, as the tournament runs until May 31.