5 Rangers to watch at World Championship, including Adam Sykora
It’s not exactly the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, but the New York Rangers are well represented at the IIHF World Hockey Championships, which began Friday in Switzerland.
Five members of the Rangers organization are in the tournament, including two defensemen from the NHL roster. Will Borgen is playing for the United States; and Urho Vaakanainen is suiting up for Finland.
Best friends Adam Sykora and Jaroslav Chmelar, each of whom split this past season with the Rangers and Hartford of the American Hockey League, are representing rival countries. Sykora is on Slovakia’s roster, and Chmelar is playing for Czechia.
Mikkel Eriksen, a fourth-round pick by the Rangers in the 2025 NHL Draft, made Norway’s roster as an 18-year-old.
Rangers captain J.T. Miller and veteran center Vincent Trocheck helped the United States win the gold medal back in February at the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Coach Mike Sullivan and assistant David Quinn were behind Team USA’s bench, and general manager Chris Drury was part of the U.S. management team for the Winter Games.
New York’s leading scorer this past season, Mika Zibanejad, played for Sweden in the 2026 Olympics.
Let’s take a closer look at the five players from the Rangers organization taking part in the 2026 World Championship.
Will Borgen – United States
A steady and physical defensive defenseman, Borgen played 75 games this season and was third on the Rangers with 99 blocked shots, and fifth with 111 hits, second most among the team’s blueliners. The 29-year-old also tied his career high with five goals and totaled 15 points. He has 373 games of NHL experience, and represented the U.S. at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, which did not feature NHL players, and the 2016 World Junior Championship, when he helped Team USA win a bronze medal. He’ll join former Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren, U.S. captain Justin Faulk, and Connor Clifton of the Pittsburgh Penguins as NHL veterans on the blue line for Team USA.
Urho Vaakanainen – Finland
It was a tough season for Vaakanainen, who was in New York’s opening-night lineup, but soon became the extra defenseman and played just 34 games, averaging 13:51 TOI, lowest of his career, and totaling six assists. So, the Worlds is a big opportunity for him to close out this season on a good note. The 27-year-old is expected to partner with Ville Heinola for Finland and play some important minutes. He represented his country at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2024, and World Junior Championship in 2018 and again in 2019, when Finland captured the gold medal.
Adam Sykora – Slovakia
Sykora was bitterly disappointed when he failed to make Slovakia’s roster for the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Playing in the Worlds for the second consecutive year, and third time since 2022, eases that pain somewhat for the energetic 21-year-old forward, and affords him the chance to prove some doubters wrong. He did play for Slovakia in the Olympic qualifiers, and at the World Juniors in 2022, 2023, and 2024, when he was captain. Sykora won over the Rangers and their fan base with an impressive 11-game NHL stint to close out this past season, scoring three goals and providing a major jolt of energy with his high-octane effort in a bottom-six role; and he scored a career-high 12 goals in the minors with Hartford.
Jaroslav Chmelar – Czechia
Chmelar’s second pro season was a rousing success, and his addition to Czechia’s roster at the Worlds is hard-earned honor. He played important top-line minutes in Hartford, often with Gabe Perreault before Perreault was elevated to the NHL, and then stuck with the big club himself as a lineup regular down the stretch of the season. The rugged 22-year-old forward scored four goals, added two assists, and averaged 12.41 hits per 60 minutes, fifth best on the Rangers for those who played at least 15 games this season. Like his buddy Sykora, Chmelar hopes to impress Rangers brass here at the Worlds, with an eye toward landing a bottom-six role on Broadway next season. In 2023, Chmelar helped Czechia win the silver medal at the World Juniors, and he also represented his country at the 2022 WJC.
Mikkel Eriksen – Norway
Eriksen was the youngest player in his draft class, at age 17, so he’s used to being the “kid,” especially after getting his feet wet playing 15 games in the SHL this past season. The young center did flourish with Farjestad’s U20 team in 2025-26, scoring 19 goals and totaling 44 points in 25 games, and the Rangers are intrigued with his skill set offensively. THis is his first World Championship, but he played previously for Norway at a pair of U18 tournaments and a U20 Division 1A event.
