Every May, international hockey takes center stage with the IIHF Men’s World Championship. Hundreds of thousands of fans attend in person or watch on their TVs as 16 teams fight for the gold medal and bragging rights. But what makes this tournament so special? Let’s dive into this annual event and why it’s extra important this year.
THE TOURNAMENT:
This year's Men's World Championship kicks off on May 9 and wraps on May 25. 16 teams are separated into two divisions, Group A and Group B, to start the event. Over the first 11 days, teams will participate in a round-robin tournament, facing every team in their group. Three points can be earned from each game: three for a regulation win, two for an overtime win, and one for an overtime loss. At the end of the preliminary round, the top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinal stage on May 22.
Teams will have the day off after the preliminary round to get ready for the elimination stages of the tournament. After playing the quarterfinals, the victorious teams will have another day without games to prepare for the semifinals on May 24. The losers of each semifinal game will face off in the bronze medal game at 3:20 p.m. local time on May 25, while the winners will play in the gold medal game at 8:20 p.m. local time on May 25.
This year, Group A will feature the following teams (in alphabetical order): Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden. Group B has the remaining eight teams (in alphabetical order): Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States.
Group A will play the preliminary round in Stockholm, Sweden - the main host of the tournament. The secondary host - Hering, Denmark - is where Group B will play its preliminary round games. Both semifinal games and the medal round will take place in Stockholm.
THE SIGNIFICANCE:
Men’s Worlds is a chance to see how each country stacks up against each other. It’s also an opportunity for each federation to observe and see which players are a good fit for future teams.
That’s an important element to this year’s tournament as it’s the final world championship before the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Although some NHL players are not available due to the Stanley Cup playoffs, there are players attending who want to make a case for why they belong on an Olympic roster.
Regardless of whether the Olympics are around the corner or not, this tournament also allows players to participate in meaningful games and learn what it takes to compete in elimination situations. Utah head coach André Tourigny has coached at the Men’s World Championship the last four summers. He shared why the tournament is important for player development:
“It’s all about playing elimination hockey,” Tourigny explained. “For a lot of (NHL) players that go there, (they) tend to not make the playoffs or lose in the first round. Playing with that kind of pressure, it’s something you need to learn. When you have the opportunity to play in those pressure games, it builds you. I will take any player who’s experienced 10, 15, 20, 30 elimination games in his life is reacting way better at the 30th than he did at the first one.
“The stress is still the same, but you know how to manage the stress, you know how to control yourself,” Tourigny continued. “You know how to react in those situations. There’s no other way, you cannot learn that in a book, there’s no other way than living those situations ... The battle opportunity to play do or die hockey, they will make mistakes, they will make good plays, they will have stress, they will have emotion and that will make them get better because you get better from those experiences.”
Although Tourigny won’t be in Europe for this year’s event, he plans on watching the Utah players who do represent their countries in Men’s Worlds.
“I will be following no doubt about it,” Tourigny shared. “I’ve been there the last four years, and I valued that tournament, and I value the opportunity to represent your country. That’s such an honor; it’s not everybody who has that opportunity so I hope those guys will value that as much as I do. As well as having an opportunity for a championship, to be part of a winning team, I think is something you can’t overlook. I will be following for sure.”
THE SCHEDULE:
For those who want to watch as much hockey as possible right now, you’re in luck. Between Men’s Worlds games in the morning and afternoon (due to the time change from Europe), and the Stanley Cup Playoffs at night, there’s plenty of hockey to consume.
Click here for this year's full Men's Worlds schedule.
THE PLAYERS:
Who will represent their respective countries at the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship? Players will be named to their international rosters over the next two weeks. USA Hockey started by naming three Utah Hockey Club players to their initial team. Friday afternoon, Czechia named Karel Vejmelka to their Men's Worlds roster. Other countries will release their first names soon. Full coverage of Utah players at Men’s Worlds will be available on Utah’s website!
