The 2025 IIHF World Championship is set to get underway on Friday in Herning, Denmark and Stockholm, Sweden with 16 nations vying for the chance to take home the gold medal and this year’s tournament is shaping up to be one of the best in quite some time.
Those 16 nations, as is the case every year, are divided up into two groups of eight using the serpentine system based on last year’s IIHF rankings to determine who slots into Group A, which will play their games at Aviici Arena in Stockholm, while Group B is being hosted at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning.
Group A will consist of Canada, Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Latvia, Austria, France and the newly promoted Slovenia, who took home the silver medal at the IIHF World Championship Division 1A tournament in Italy last year.
As for Group B, it’ll feature last year’s gold medalist Czechia, silver medalists Switzerland, along with the United States, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Kazakhstan and Hungary, who won gold at last year’s Division 1A tournament and will be making just their 11th top division appearance in the history of the World Championship.
The top four teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals, with the first seed in Group A playing the fourth seed in Group B, B1 vs A4, B2 vs A3 and A2 vs B3. Meanwhile the eighth place team in each group will be relegated to the Division 1A tournament next year and will be replaced by Great Britain and Italy, both of whom won promotion last week.
Nation-by-Nation breakdown
Austria
The Austrians are coming off a 10th place finish in 2024, their highest since 2003 and arguably their best performance ever at the tournament, or at least in modern history. Austria dispatched Finland and Norway, scored five goals against the eventual gold medalist, Czechia, in a 6-5 loss and overcame a 6-1 deficit against Canada to force overtime where they lost. This year, the Austrians are hoping for a similar result but will have to do so without star forward Marco Rossi and, much like last year, will be without Montreal Canadiens prospect David Reinbacher. Austria does have some solid pieces on their roster however, including Detroit Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper, Montreal Canadiens prospect Vinzenz Rohrer, Utah Mammoth prospect Gregor Bieber and former North Bay Battalion & Peterborough Petes defenseman David Maier.
Austria’s schedule:
- May 9th vs Finland (10:20 am ET)
- May 10th vs Sweden (10:20 am ET)
- May 12th vs Slovakia (10:20 am ET)
- May 15th vs Canada (2:20 pm ET)
- May 16th vs France (10:20 am ET)
- May 18th vs Slovenia (10:20 am ET)
- May 20th vs Latvia (6:20 am ET)
Player to Watch: Gregor Biber (Rogle BK – SHL)
Canada
After a strong showing the preliminary round last year, Canada came up short in the medal round, losing to Switzerland in a shootout in the semifinals, following by a loss to Sweden in the Bronze Medal Game. This year, Canada’s roster, at least on paper, is the strongest they’ve had in quite a few years headlined by Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini. Hockey Canada also managed to snag 4 Nations Face-Off winners Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny, while future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury will be making his IIHF World Championship debut. Canada has just one roster spot remaining after adding Brayden Schenn, Phillip Danault and Jordan Binnginton to their roster on Thursday afternoon.
- May 10th vs Slovenia (6:20 am ET)
- May 11th vs Latvia (10:20 am ET)
- May 13th vs France (2:20 pm ET)
- May 15th vs Austria (2:20 pm ET)
- May 17th vs Slovakia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 19th vs Finland (2:20 pm ET)
- May 20th vs Sweden (2:20 pm ET)
Player to Watch: Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks – NHL)
Czechia
Czechia, the defending gold medalists, are looking to return to the top of the hockey world in back-to-back years for the first time since winning three straight from 1999 to 2001. The Czechs will have some star power on their roster, which should aid in that push for back-to-back gold medals as David Pastrnak, Martin Necas were named to the team. 39-year-old Roman Cervenka, in what could be his final World Championship, will once again captain the team for the fifth year in a row. Meanwhile Karel Vejmelka of the Utah Mammoth and Dan Vladar of the Calgary Flames share the duties between the pipes, at least to start the tournament. Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek is the most notable name on Czechia’s blue line and will be tasked with playing top pairing minutes, as well as on the power play and penalty kill.
Czechia’s schedule:
- May 9th vs Switzerland (10:20 am ET)
- May 11th vs Norway (2:20 pm ET)
- May 12th vs Denmark (2:20 pm ET)
- May 15th vs Hungary (2:20 pm ET)
- May 17th vs Kazakhstan (10:20 am ET)
- May 19th vs Germany (10:20 am ET)
- May 20th vs United States (10:20 am ET)
Player to Watch: Jiri Tichacek (Kladno – Czech Extraliga)
Denmark
Denmark, the co-hosts of the 2025 IIHF World Championship, have had a tough go in the last seven tournaments and haven’t made it out of the preliminary round since 2018 where they finished eighth following a quarterfinal loss to Finland. Last year, the Danes had their worst finish since 2015 as they came 13th after winning just two games in the group stage against Austria and Great Britain. Head coach Mikael Gath will be without three of the nation’s top players in Nikolaj Ehlers, Frederik Andersen and Lars Eller as they are still in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and he also won’t have any players from North America on his roster this time around. Veteran netminder Sebastian Dahm will face a ton of shots this tournament and need to bail his team out if they have any hopes at making it to the medal round. Seattle Kraken prospect Oscar Fisker Molgaard will look to lead the way offensive for the Danes.
Denmark’s schedule:
- May 9th vs United States (2:20 pm ET)
- May 10th vs Switzerland (2:20 pm ET)
- May 12th vs Czechia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 14th vs Kazakhstan (2:20 pm ET)
- May 16th vs Hungary (10:20 am ET)
- May 17th vs Norway (2:20 pm ET)
- May 20th vs Germany (2:20 pm ET)
Player to Watch: Oskar Fisker Molgaard (HV71 – SHL/Coachella Valley Firebirds – AHL)
Finland
The Finns head into the 2025 IIHF World Championship looking come out with a medal after back-to-back quarterfinal exits following losses to Canada and Sweden in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Finland’s roster for this year’s tournament features just 6 NHLers including three that suited up for them at the 4 Nations Face-Off – Juuse Saros, Teuvo Teravianen and Nikolas Mantipalo. Without star players such as Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen and Aleksander Barkov, all of whom are still in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Finns will be in tough as they look to win a medal and will likely need a masterclass performance night in, night out from Juuse Saros if they wish to achieve their goals.
Finland’s schedule:
- May 9th vs Austria (10:20 am ET)
- May 11th vs France (2:20 pm ET)
- May 12th vs Sweden (2:20 pm ET)
- May 15th vs Slovenia (10:20 am ET)
- May 17th vs Latvia (6:20 am ET)
- May 19th vs Canada (2:20 pm ET)
- May 20th vs Slovakia (10:20 am ET)
Player to Watch: Lenni Hameenaho (Assat – Liiga)
France
We’re entering a new era of French hockey with 20-year-old Antoine Keller, a goaltending prospect of the Washington Capitals, set to be the face of their program for the next decade-and-a-half, at least. The French have usually always had strong goaltending, most notably former NHLer and Stanley Cup champion Cristobal Huet, who appeared at 13 IIHF World Championships and two Winter Olympics. For North American fans, France has a few names that’ll be familiar including Alexandre Texier of the St. Louis Blues, former NHLer Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, former Montreal Canadiens prospect Tim Bozon as well as defenseman Jules Boscq, a 23-year-old who is in his second year in the ECHL with Iowa. France is coming off a 14th place finish last year and will try to avoid being relegated from the top division, but will likely be in the mix alongside Slovenia and possibly Austria.
France’s schedule:
- May 10th vs Latvia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 11th vs Finland (2:20 pm ET)
- May 13th vs Canada (2:20 pm ET)
- May 14th vs Slovakia (10:20 am ET)
- May 16th vs Austria (10:20 am ET)
- May 17th vs Sweden (10:20 am ET)
- May 19th vs Slovenia (10:20 am ET)
Player to Watch: Sacha Treille (Grenoble – Ligue Magnus)
Germany
Team Germany has had quite a bit of success in recent years at the IIHF World Championship including six straight playoff round appearances and a silver medal performance at the 2023 tournament in Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia. This year, Germany will be led by Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider and Seattle Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer, along with former NHLer Dominik Kahun. During last year’s tournament in Czechia, their second with Harold Kreis behind the bench, the Germans finished in sixth place following a quarterfinal loss to the silver medalists, Switzerland. The Germans were holding out hope for Tim Stutzle to be available to them during the tournament after Ottawa was eliminated by Toronto in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they’ll have to do without him, as well as star forward Leon Draisaitl.
Germany’s schedule:
- May 10th vs Hungary (10:20 am ET)
- May 11th vs Kazakhstan (10:20 am ET)
- May 13th vs Norway (10:20 am ET)
- May 15th vs Switzerland (10:20 am ET)
- May 17th vs United States (6:20 am ET)
- May 19th vs Czechia (10:20 am ET)
- May 20th vs Denmark (2:20 pm ET)
Player to Watch: Marc Michaelis (Adler Mannheim – DEL)
Hungary
Hungary is making just their 11th top division appearance at the IIHF World Championship, with this being their third since 2009. Last year, the Hungarians finished first in Division 1A, which confirmed their participation in this year’s World Championship and the nation will have a number of players on their roster that appeared at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. The most notable names on Hungary’s roster include goaltender Adam Vay, who is a former Minnesota Wild prospect (undrafted), Janos Hari and Krisztian Nagy. Hungary’s roster also features Doman Szongoth, a 16-year-old forward who played in KooKoo’s system in Finland this season, who is set to become the youngest player at the World Championship in over 75 years. Some scouts are saying that he’s the most talented player to come out of the country. Szongoth will be eligible for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Hungary’s schedule:
- May 10th vs Germany (10:20 am ET)
- May 11th vs United States (6:20 am ET)
- May 13th vs Kazakhstan (2:20 pm ET)
- May 15th vs Czechia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 16th vs Denmark (10:20 am ET)
- May 18th vs Switzerland (2:20 pm ET)
- May 19th vs Norway (2:20 pm ET)
Player to Watch: Doman Szongoth (KooKoo U20 – U20 SM-Sarja)
Kazakhstan
If you’ve watched the IIHF World Championship in recent years, you’ll know all about Kazakh goaltender Andrei Shutov, as he’s stolen them a number of games since making his tournament debut in 2021, however due to injury, they’ll be without him this year. That’ll be a massive blow to any hopes Kazakhstan has of making it to their first playoff round ever. However, the Kazakhs still have a pretty good roster, led by Roman Starchenko and Nikita Mikhailis. It’s likely going to come down to Kazakhstan and Hungary – who play each other on May 13th – for who will be relegated to Division 1A for the 2026 tournament.
Kazakhstan’s schedule:
- May 10th vs Norway (6:20 am ET)
- May 11th vs Germany (10:20 am ET)
- May 13th vs Hungary (2:20 pm ET)
- May 14th vs Denmark (2:20 pm ET)
- May 17th vs Czechia (10:20 am ET)
- May 18th vs United States (10:20 am ET)
- May 20th vs Switzerland (6:20 am ET)
Player to Watch: Nikita Mikhailis (Metallurg Magnitogorsk – KHL)
Latvia
The Latvians are two years removed from their historic Bronze Medal win when they co-hosted the tournament with Finland and at last year’s World Championship, they failed to make the playoff round. 2024 was a disappointing tournament for Latvia, but they have plenty of hope they’ll be able to make it to the quarterfinals this year, even without a number of their top players from North America including Teddy Blueger, Zemgus Girgensons, Uvis Balinskis, Rodrigo Abols, Elvis Merzlikins and Arturs Silovs. Among the notable names on Latvia’s roster this year include Boston Bruins prospect Dans Locmelis, former NHLers Kaspars Daugavins, Rudolfs Balcers and Kristers Gudlevskis. If Latvia is able to provide an upset or two, along with beating Austria, France and Slovenia, they’ll have a good shot at reaching the quarterfinals for the second time in three years.
Latvia’s schedule:
- May 10th vs France (2:20 pm ET)
- May 11th vs Canada (10:20 am ET)
- May 13th vs Slovenia (10:20 am ET)
- May 14th vs Sweden (2:20 pm ET)
- May 17th vs Finland (6:20 am ET)
- May 18th vs Slovakia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 20th vs Austria (6:20 am ET)
Player to Watch: Dans Locmelis (Providence Bruins – AHL)
Norway
Norway has had a bit of a rough go at the IIHF World Championship in the last 12 years. While they haven’t been relegated, they have been siting in the preliminary round purgatory as they haven’t made it out of the group stage since back-to-back quarterfinals appearances in 2011 and 2012. This year, it won’t be any easier as the program will be without Mats Zuccarello and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. However, they do have a trio of young players who are ready to put Norwegian hockey on the map as Anaheim Ducks prospect Stian Solberg, Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Noah Steen and 20-year-old centerman Petter Vesterheim have all been named to their final roster. Norway’s roster also features former NHLer Andreas Martinsen.
Norway’s schedule:
- May 10th vs Kazakhstan (6:20 am ET)
- May 11th vs Czechia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 13th vs Germany (10:20 am ET)
- May 14th vs United States (10:20 am ET)
- May 16th vs Switzerland (2:20 pm ET)
- May 17th vs Denmark (2:20 pm ET)
- May 19th vs Hungary (2:20 pm ET)
Player to Watch: Stian Solberg (Farjestad BK – SHL/San Diego Gulls – AHL)
Slovakia
The Slovaks enter the 2025 IIHF World Championship without two of their top players – Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec, as well as beloved head coach Craig Ramsey, who is reportedly dealing with health issues after battling pneumonia. Slovakia has made the quarterfinals in three of the last four tournaments and will have a pretty good chance of reaching the playoff round again in Group A, with their toughest tests being Canada, Finland and co-hosts Sweden. Among the notable names on Slovakia’s roster this year are St. Louis Blues prospect Dalibor Dvorsky, New York Rangers prospect Adam Sykora, Los Angeles Kings prospect Martin Chromiak and Minnesota Wild prospect Samuel Hlavaj, the latter of whom will form a strong goaltending trio with Adam Huska and Patrik Rybar.
Slovakia’s schedule:
- May 9th vs Sweden (2:20 pm ET)
- May 11th vs Slovenia (6:20 am ET)
- May 12th vs Austria (10:20 am ET)
- May 14th vs France (10:20 am ET)
- May 17th vs Canada (2:20 pm ET)
- May 18th vs Latvia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 20th vs Finland (10:20 am ET)
Player to Watch: Dalibor Dvorsky (Springfield Thunderbirds – AHL)
Slovenia
Slovenia is back in the top division of the IIHF World Championship for the second time in the last three years and despite the Los Angeles Kings being eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the first round, they’ll be without the greatest player in the nation’s history, Anze Kopitar. Kopitar hasn’t suited up for Slovenia since 2022 Olympic Qualifiers in August/September 2021, with some reports suggesting that he retired from the national team last summer. Without Kopitar, the Slovenian program must push on, with forward Jan Drozig and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Jan Golicic among their more notable names. Goaltender Gasper Kroselj is no longer part of the national team, with Matija Pintaric likely to be their starter at this year’s World Championship. Slovenia will be in tough in Group B and barring any upsets, will likely be relegation bound by the end of the preliminary round.
Slovenia’s schedule:
- May 10th vs Canada (6:20 am ET)
- May 11th vs Slovakia (6:20 am ET)
- May 13th vs Latvia (10:20 am ET)
- May 15th vs Finland (10:20 am ET)
- May 16th vs Sweden (2:20 pm ET)
- May 18th vs Austria (10:20 am ET)
- May 19th vs France (10:20 am ET)
Player to Watch: Jan Golicic (Gatineau Olympiques – QMJHL)
Sweden
Co-hosts Sweden are coming off their first World Championship medal since back-to-back golds in 2017 and 2018 and with the roster head coach Sam Hallam has constructed, don’t be surprised if they upgrade from the bronze they took home last year in Prague. Aside from Jesper Froden (ZSC Lions – NL) and Anton Bengtsson (Rogle BK – SHL), the majority of Sweden’s roster is full of NHL players, headlined by Filip Forsberg, Rasmus Andersson, Jacob Markstrom, Mika Zibanejad and Lucas Raymond. Canada will be Sweden’s biggest test in Group A, with the two nations meeting on the final day of the preliminary round on May 20th and could meet again five days later in the Gold Medal Game.
Sweden’s schedule:
- May 9th vs Slovakia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 10th vs Austria (10:20 am ET)
- May 12th vs Finland (2:20 pm ET)
- May 14th vs Latvia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 16th vs Slovenia (2:20 pm ET)
- May 17th vs France (10:20 am ET)
- May 20th vs Canada (2:20 pm ET)
Player to Watch: Simon Edvinsson (Detroit Red Wings – NHL)
Switzerland
After taking home their third silver medal in the since 2013, Switzerland has loaded up their roster with NHL stars for another run at a medal. Switzerland hasn’t medaled at back-to-back World Championships since winning bronze in 1950 and 1951. The Swiss roster this year features Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Kevin Fiala (not officially added yet), Jonas Siegenthaler and Janis Moser. 41-year-old Andres Ambuhl, a World Championship legend, will cap off his career at this year’s tournament. He’s played at a whopping 20(!!) World Championships for Switzerland along with five appearances at the Winter Olympics.
Switzerland’s schedule:
- May 9th vs Czechia (10:20 am ET)
- May 10th vs Denmark (2:20 pm ET)
- May 12th vs United States (10:20 am ET)
- May 15th vs Germany (10:20 am ET)
- May 16th vs Norway (2:20 pm ET)
- May 18th vs Hungary (2:20 pm ET)
- May 20th vs Kazakhstan (6:20 pm ET)
Player to Watch: Sven Andrighetto (ZSC Lions – NL)
United States
The United States have never really had a ton of success at the IIHF World Championship, winning gold once, all the way back in 1933. However, during Olympic years, those results counted towards the World Championship, so if you include 1960, the United States has two golds. Regardless, in the last 64 years, the United States have just seven bronze medals and are still looking for their first Gold Medal Game appearance. This year, they’ll have a good chance of reaching the final with a roster that features Jeremy Swayman, Clayton Keller, Matty Beniers, Tage Thompson, Will Smith, Brady Skjei, Logan Cooley, as well as Zach Werenski, who hasn’t been officially registered by USA Hockey at the time of writing this. In Group B, the United States’ toughest opponent will be Czechia and if they can avoid finishing 3rd or 4th, which would likely set up a quarterfinal date with Canada or Sweden, they’ll be in good shape.
United States’ schedule:
- May 9th vs Denmark (2:20 pm ET)
- May 11th vs Hungary (6:20 am ET)
- May 12th vs Switzerland (10:20 am ET)
- May 14th vs Norway (10:20 am ET)
- May 17th vs Germany (6:20 am ET)
- May 18th vs Kazakhstan (10:20 am ET)
- May 20th vs Czechia (10:20 am ET)
Player to Watch: Zeev Buium (Minnesota Wild – NHL)
Hockey fans across the globe are in for an exciting 16 days at the 2025 IIHF World Championship starting tomorrow morning on TSN. Stay tuned to Coopergodin.com for daily recaps starting tomorrow right through to the Gold Medal Game on Sunday, May 25th.