Ambuhl is playing at his 19th Worlds, an all-time tournament record. The Davos captain’s first Worlds with Switzerland was here in Prague in 2004 at age 20.
Ambuhl assisted on Nino Niederreiter’s third-period power-play goal versus Norway, and then added three more helpers in Sunday’s 6-5 victory over Austria, including one on Nico Hischier’s late winner. The 176-cm, 86-kg forward also hit 133 career WM games on Sunday, another all-time record.
“It’s impressive to watch,” said Niederreiter. “He’s in his 19th tournament and he still looks like a young guy out there. He plays extremely well with a lot of passion, and he always goes into the battle 100 percent. I think that’s what makes him a great leader in the team and obviously a great player on the ice.”
Meanwhile, Thoresen, who was named the Norwegian Player of the Year and captained Storhamar to the title, returned to the Worlds for the first time since 2019. Norway’s captain recorded two assists, including one on 18-year-old forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s first Worlds goal. He then set up another 18-year-old, defenceman Stian Solberg, in a 6-3 loss to Czechia.
The grizzled power forward, a tournament all-star in 2012 with 18 points, made his top-level debut in Riga back in 2006 at age 22. However, Thoresen already represented Norway in Division I action two years earlier.
Asked about how he feels about coming back to the Polar Bears, this 10-time Worlds participant said: “I’m very glad! You know, it’s fun to be around these young kids coming up, a new Norwegian generation. Maybe sometime in the future I will work with hockey [after my playing career], so it’s going to be nice to get to know them now as a player. I feel young again when I’m around 18- or 19-year-old kids.”
Bottom line? Don’t believe the stereotypes about guys over 40 – at least in elite international hockey. They can do much more than go fishing and fix their cars, pontificate about how Deep Purple and Pearl Jam are “real music,” and injure their dad bods by bending over to pick up a newspaper.
Other World Championship examples back this up.
Exhibit A is, unsurprisingly, Jaromir Jagr. When Czechia last hosted in 2015, this legendary member of the IIHF’s Triple Gold Club (OG 1998,…
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