Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and well, the entire collection of Canadian stars and legends will soon be boarding a flight back to North America. Likely with a bitter irritation over letting a group of Danish players, whom they probably hadn’t heard of beforehand, snatch victory in a World Championship quarterfinal.

It can’t be any different when they’ve traveled all the way to Europe after a long NHL season to sprinkle some star dust over the World Championship, naturally expecting to take home the gold.

In hindsight, they likely understand that it is precisely this attitude towards elite sports that can cause wealthy phenomena to pale when faced with a group of underdogs, hungry World Championship veterans from Denmark, who may not boast Stanley Cup trophies, Olympic titles, and world championships in abundance like the Canadians.

Instead, the Danes had what the Canadian head coach Dean Evason would call »grit«, which missing from his sluggish players.

Led by, to be honest, every single one of the players, Denmark showed the passion and perseverance that can bring about seemingly impossible achievements in international sports. Exactly like when the football reserves were called into the European Championship tournament in Sweden 33 years ago and ended up with the gold.

That’s the scale on which the 2-1 victory over Canada should be understood. As a historic milestone in Danish sports.

A gift for life

But more than anything, the victory should be seen in the perspective of 22 years of hard work by around 100 Danish ice hockey players, who in their respective times and with their individual talents, have worked tirelessly to stay in the A-group and keep the dream, of achieving this miracle alive.

Therefore, the victory is not just a sensational triumph for the sports community in Denmark, which now stands united Saturday night when Denmark meets Switzerland in the semifinal in Stockholm.

It’s a gift for life to the players who turned a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 victory in the final minutes of the game Thursday night – and to all those who fought for the dream over the decades before that moment, a dream that has never really been close but was fulfilled when the team’s only NHL player, Nikolaj Ehlers, equalized before Nick Olesen sent the puck into the net behind the Canadian goaltender just 49 seconds before time ran out.

And the fact that the gift is well deserved must be emphasized by the fact that the majority of the players in the Danish squad have been here before. They’ve stood with their dreams at a World Championship, but have almost always had to settle for surviving yet another year. Many times.

Perhaps that’s why this particular World Championship is special. For only the most optimistic people in Danish sports, and clearly the players themselves, believed there was fairytale potential in Herning after three straight losses at the beginning. But the team found itself. And then more. Today, the 5-0 defeat in the opening match against the USA stands in stark contrast to the sensational victory Thursday.

The oldest team

That day two weeks ago, the team seemed tired – perhaps even past their peak. The generational shift that Danish ice hockey thirsts for is slow to arrive, and the wrinkles on head coach Mikael Gath’s forehead deepen as he searches for new blood for the team. Often in vain.

Many of them are, after all, in the twilight of their careers. On paper.

Denmark has the oldest team in the tournament. Only two men in the squad – exceptionally talented Oscar Fisker Mølgaard and goalie Frederik Dichow – are under 26 years old. On the other hand, most of the team’s defensemen are over 33 years old can display more than 40 World Championship tournaments all together.

But none like this one. Because it may be that veterans Jesper Jensen Aabo and the Lauridsen brothers Oliver and Markus have a hard time distinguishing between games and performances as they each edge closer and closer to 100 World Championship games in their careers.

But they will never forget this one. The victory in the World Championship quarterfinal against Canada on May 22, 2025.