What: Ice Hockey World Championship.
When: 9-25 May.
Where: Stockholm (Avicii arena) and Herning (Jyske Bank boxen).
TV: Viaplay, TV6, and TV10.
+ How it works
Stockholm is the main venue for the World Championship with one of the groups, two quarterfinals, and semifinals and medal matches. The other group and two quarterfinals are played in Danish Herning.
A total of 16 teams participate, divided into two groups. The four best teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals.
Russia is excluded for the fourth year in a row due to the war of aggression in Ukraine.
+ Group lineup:
Group A (Stockholm): Sweden, Canada, Finland, France, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia (newcomer), and Austria.
Group B (Herning): Czech Republic (reigning champion), Denmark, Germany, Hungary (newcomer), Kazakhstan, Norway, Switzerland, USA.
+ Sweden vs Slovakia in the premiere.
Sweden's matches in the group stage:
9 May: Sweden–Slovakia (20.20).
10 May: Sweden–Austria (16.20).
12 May: Finland–Sweden (20.20).
14 May: Latvia–Sweden (20.20).
16 May: Sweden–Slovenia (20.20).
17 May: France–Sweden (16.20).
20 May: Sweden–Canada (20.20).
Quarterfinals are played on the 22nd of May, semifinals on the 24th of May, and medal matches on the 25th.
+ Czech Republic reigning champion.
Czech Republic won the World Championship on home soil last year after a final victory over Switzerland, 2–0. Superstar David Pastrnak, Boston, scored the golden goal and is participating again this year.
Czech Republic thus became the third nation under the 2000s to win the championship on home soil after Sweden (2013) and Finland (2022).
+ Gold-hungry Tre Kronor.
The Swedish national team won two consecutive World Championship gold medals under the leadership of head coach Rikard Grönborg in 2017 and 2018.
Since then, there have been few blue and yellow successes, and the bronze medal last year – after a win over Canada in the match for third place – was Sweden's first medal since 2018.
+ OS behind the stars' interest.
Last winter, it became clear that NHL players will return to the Olympics from next year in Milan.
This has raised the level of the World Championship – many want to show off before the selections – and for Sweden's part, both Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson, both now injured, played in last year's tournament.
This year, the star parade continues. Tre Kronor has 19 NHL players in the World Championship squad – more may come – including goalkeeper Jacob Markström, New Jersey, and the forward duo Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers, and Filip Forsberg, Nashville.
Canada has received the green light from superstars Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh, and Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado.
More nations can also show off big NHL stars.
+ From fiasco to success?
The last home World Championship in Stockholm in 2013 was a sporting success with gold – but a public and economic fiasco.
The Hockey Association could not even sell out all of Sweden's matches – neither the quarterfinal against Canada nor the semifinal against Finland.
This time, the World Championship organization has been more flexible, and last week, they announced that over 200,000 tickets had been sold for the matches in Stockholm.
The organizer expects tickets to all of Sweden's matches to be sold out.
+ Recent World Champions.
2024 (in Prague/Ostrava): Czech Republic.
2023 (Tammerfors/Riga): Canada.
2022 (Tammerfors/Helsinki): Finland.
2021 (Riga): Canada.
2020: Cancelled due to covid-19.
2019: (Bratislava/Kosice): Finland.
2018: (Copenhagen/Herning): Sweden.
2017 (Cologne/Paris): Sweden.
