2026 IIHF World Championship
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Switzerland |
| Venues | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Dates | 15–31 May |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  Finland (5th title) |
Runners-up  | Switzerland |
Third place  |  Norway |
| Fourth place |  Canada |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 64 |
| Goals scored | 371 (5.8 per game) |
| Attendance | 466,314 (7,286 per game) |
| Scoring leader | Sven Andrighetto (15 points) |
| Awards | |
| MVP | Roman Josi |
The 2026 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland from 15 to 31 May 2026, as the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on 27 May 2022 in Tampere, Finland.
Finland won the title for the fifth time, beating the host, Switzerland 1–0 in overtime, marking Switzerland's third consecutive loss in the final.[1] Norway claimed its first IIHF medal after defeating Canada 3–2 in overtime and finishing third.[2]
The tournament featured a number of upsets, most notably Norway's win over Canada in the bronze medal game, after having come within one game of relegation to Division I in both the 2024 and 2025 editions.
Host nation bid
[edit]The only bidders were Kazakhstan and Switzerland.
Switzerland was originally slated to host in 2020 but the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, while Kazakhstan has not hosted any tournaments.
In the end, on 27 May 2022, IIHF Congress awarded Switzerland rights to host the competition.[3] No votes were needed, due to Kazakhstan's bid withdrawal earlier.
Venues
[edit]| Zurich | Fribourg | |
|---|---|---|
| Swiss Life Arena | BCF Arena | |
| Capacity: 10,000 | Capacity: 7,500 | |
 |
 |
Participants
[edit]Sixteen teams took part in the competition for the 28th time. France and Kazakhstan, after taking part in the top division for three and four years respectively, were relegated to Division I after finishing last in their groups at the 2025 edition. They were replaced by Division I champions Great Britain, who secured their immediate promotion back to the top division, and runners-up, Italy, who secured their promotion back to the top division after last appearing in 2022.
| Qualification | Host | Dates | Vacancies | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top fourteen in 2025 |  Herning /  Stockholm | 9–25 May 2025 | 14 |  United States Switzerland (H) Sweden Denmark Canada Czechia Finland Austria Germany Slovakia Latvia Norway Slovenia Hungary |
| Promoted from Division I |  Sfântu Gheorghe | 27 April – 3 May 2025 | 2 |  Great Britain Italy |
Summary of qualified teams
[edit]| Team | Qualification method | Appearance(s) | Previous best performance[A] | WR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total[B] | First[B] | Last[B] | Streak[B] | ||||
| United States |
First in 2025 | 77th | 1920 | 2025 | 40 | Champions (1933, 1960, 2025) | 1 |
| Switzerland |
Second in 2025 | 58th | 1920 | 28 | Runners-up (1935, 2013, 2018, 2024, 2025) | 2 | |
| Sweden |
Third in 2025 | 84th | 1920 | 76 | Champions (11 times)[C] | 4 | |
| Denmark |
Fourth in 2025 | 24th | 1949 | 23 | Fourth place (2025) | 8 | |
| Canada |
Fifth in 2025 | 79th | 1920 | 46 | Champions (28 times)[D] | 3 | |
| Czechia |
Sixth in 2025 | 33rd | 1993 | 33 | Champions (1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2024) | 5 | |
| Finland |
Seventh in 2025 | 72nd | 1939 | 66 | Champions (1995, 2011, 2019, 2022) | 6 | |
| Austria |
Eighth in 2025 | 38th | 1928 | 5 | Third place (1931, 1947) | 11 | |
| Germany |
Ninth in 2025 | 70th | 1928 | 19 | Runners-up (1930, 1953, 2023) | 7 | |
| Latvia |
Tenth in 2025 | 34th | 1933 | 29 | Third place (2023) | 10 | |
| Slovakia |
Eleventh in 2025 | 30th | 1996 | 30 | Champions (2002) | 9 | |
| Norway |
Twelfth in 2025 | 41st | 1937 | 20 | Fourth place (1951) | 12 | |
| Slovenia |
Thirteenth in 2025 | 12th | 2002 | 2 | Thirteenth place (2002, 2005, 2025) | 15 | |
| Hungary |
Fourteenth in 2025 | 15th | 1928 | 2 | Fifth place (1937) | 16 | |
| Italy |
Top two in Division I | 33rd | 1930 | 2022 | 1 | Fourth place (1953) | 18 |
| Great Britain |
20th | 1924 | 2024 | 1 | Champions (1936) | 17 | |
Seeding
[edit]Seeding in the preliminary round was based on the 2025 IIHF World Ranking, at the end of the 2025 IIHF World Championship,[4] using the serpentine system "to allocate a maximum of two teams to separate groups".[5]
Marketing
[edit]
Mascot
[edit]The mascot of the tournament was a Swiss cow called Cooly.[6] Cooly was originally the mascot of the 2009 IIHF Men's World Championship, the last men's world championship to have been hosted in Switzerland, and has since been the mascot of other sporting events in Switzerland, including the 2014 European Athletic Championships.[6][7][8][9]
Slogan
[edit]The slogan of the tournament was "Time to Shine".[10]
Official song
[edit]"Time to Shine" by Swiss musician Bastian Baker was released on 6 October 2025 as the official song of the 2026 IIHF World Championship.[11] Baker is an ice hockey fan and a former player from Lausanne.[11]
Match officials
[edit]16 referees and linespersons were announced on 17 April 2026.[12]
| Referees | Linesmen |
|---|---|
|
|
Rosters
[edit]Each team's roster consisted of at least 15 skaters (forwards and defencemen) and two goaltenders, and at most 22 skaters and three goaltenders. All 16 participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, had to submit a "Long List" no later than two weeks before the tournament, and a final roster by the Passport Control meeting prior to the start of the tournament.
Preliminary round
[edit]The groups were announced on 4 June 2025,[13] with the schedule being revealed on 19 August 2025.[14]
Group A
[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland (H) |
7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 7 | +32 | 21 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Finland |
7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 11 | +20 | 18 | |
| 3 | Latvia |
7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 17 | +7 | 12 | |
| 4 | United States |
7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 11 | |
| 5 | Germany |
7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 10 | Qualified for the 2027 IIHF World Championship |
| 6 | Austria |
7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 29 | −12 | 9 | |
| 7 | Hungary |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 38 | −24 | 3 | |
| 8 | Great Britain |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 35 | −28 | 0 | Relegated to the 2027 Division I A |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) seeding before tournament[15]
(H) Host
| 15 May 2026 | |||||
| Finland | 3–1 | Germany | |||
| United States | 1–3 | Switzerland | |||
| 16 May 2026 | |||||
| Great Britain | 2–5 | Austria | |||
| Hungary | 1–4 | Finland | |||
| Switzerland | 4–2 | Latvia | |||
| 17 May 2026 | |||||
| Great Britain | 1–5 | United States | |||
| Austria | 4–2 | Hungary | |||
| Germany | 0–2 | Latvia | |||
| 18 May 2026 | |||||
| Finland | 6–2 | United States | |||
| Germany | 1–6 | Switzerland | |||
| 19 May 2026 | |||||
| Latvia | 1–3 | Austria | |||
| Hungary | 5–0 | Great Britain | |||
| 20 May 2026 | |||||
| Austria | 0–9 | Switzerland | |||
| United States | 4–3 (GWS) | Germany | |||
| 21 May 2026 | |||||
| Latvia | 1–7 | Finland | |||
| Switzerland | 4–1 | Great Britain | |||
| 22 May 2026 | |||||
| Germany | 6–2 | Hungary | |||
| Finland | 4–0 | Great Britain | |||
| 23 May 2026 | |||||
| Latvia | 4–2 | United States | |||
| Switzerland | 9–0 | Hungary | |||
| Austria | 2–6 | Germany | |||
| 24 May 2026 | |||||
| Great Britain | 0–6 | Latvia | |||
| Finland | 5–2 | Austria | |||
| 25 May 2026 | |||||
| United States | 7–3 | Hungary | |||
| Germany | 6–3 | Great Britain | |||
| 26 May 2026 | |||||
| Hungary | 1–8 | Latvia | |||
| United States | 4–1 | Austria | |||
| Switzerland | 4–2 | Finland |
Group B
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada |
7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 13 | +20 | 20 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Norway |
7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 15 | |
| 3 | Czechia |
7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 13 | |
| 4 | Sweden |
7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 12 | |
| 5 | Slovakia |
7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 11 | Qualified for the 2027 IIHF World Championship |
| 6 | Denmark |
7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 26 | −11 | 6[a] | |
| 7 | Slovenia |
7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 25 | −12 | 6[a] | |
| 8 | Italy |
7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 28 | −23 | 1 | Relegated to the 2027 Division I A |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) seeding before tournament[16]
Notes:
| 15 May 2026 | |||||
| Canada | 5–3 | Sweden | |||
| Czechia | 4–1 | Denmark | |||
| 16 May 2026 | |||||
| Slovakia | 2–1 | Norway | |||
| Italy | 0–6 | Canada | |||
| Slovenia | 3–2 (OT) | Czechia | |||
| 17 May 2026 | |||||
| Italy | 1–4 | Slovakia | |||
| Denmark | 2–6 | Sweden | |||
| Norway | 4–0 | Slovenia | |||
| 18 May 2026 | |||||
| Canada | 5–1 | Denmark | |||
| Sweden | 3–4 | Czechia | |||
| 19 May 2026 | |||||
| Italy | 0–4 | Norway | |||
| Slovenia | 4–5 (GWS) | Slovakia | |||
| 20 May 2026 | |||||
| Czechia | 3–1 | Italy | |||
| Sweden | 6–0 | Slovenia | |||
| 21 May 2026 | |||||
| Canada | 6–5 (OT) | Norway | |||
| Denmark | 1–5 | Slovakia | |||
| 22 May 2026 | |||||
| Canada | 3–1 | Slovenia | |||
| Sweden | 3–0 | Italy | |||
| 23 May 2026 | |||||
| Denmark | 4–0 | Slovenia | |||
| Slovakia | 2–3 | Czechia | |||
| Norway | 3–2 | Sweden | |||
| 24 May 2026 | |||||
| Denmark | 3–2 (GWS) | Italy | |||
| Slovakia | 1–5 | Canada | |||
| 25 May 2026 | |||||
| Czechia | 1–4 | Norway | |||
| Slovenia | 5–1 | Italy | |||
| 26 May 2026 | |||||
| Norway | 4–3 (OT) | Denmark | |||
| Sweden | 4–2 | Slovakia | |||
| Czechia | 2–3 | Canada |
Playoff round
[edit]Teams were reseeded after the quarterfinals.[17]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 28 May | ||||||||||
1A Switzerland | 3 | |||||||||
| 30 May | ||||||||||
4B Sweden | 1 | |||||||||
1 Switzerland | 6 | |||||||||
| 28 May | ||||||||||
4 Norway | 0 | |||||||||
1B Canada | 4 | |||||||||
| 31 May | ||||||||||
4A United States | 0 | |||||||||
1 Switzerland | 0 | |||||||||
| 28 May | ||||||||||
3 Finland (OT) | 1 | |||||||||
2A Finland | 4 | |||||||||
| 30 May | ||||||||||
3B Czechia | 1 | |||||||||
2 Canada | 2 | |||||||||
| 28 May | ||||||||||
3 Finland | 4 | Third place | ||||||||
2B Norway | 2 | |||||||||
| 31 May | ||||||||||
3A Latvia | 0 | |||||||||
2 Canada | 2 | |||||||||
4 Norway (OT) | 3 | |||||||||
Final
[edit]| 31 May 2026 20:20 | Switzerland | 0–1 OT (0–0, 0–0, 0–0) (OT: 0–1) | Finland | Swiss Life Arena, Zürich Attendance: 10,000 |
| Game reference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonardo Genoni | Goalies | Justus Annunen | Referees: Tobias Björk André Schrader Linesmen: Brian Birkhoff Anders Nyqvist | ||
| |||||
| 10 min | Penalties | 8 min | |||
| 22 | Shots | 28 | |||
Final standings
[edit]
Teams finishing fifth in the preliminary round were ranked ninth and tenth, teams finishing sixth were ranked 11th and 12th, and so on.[18]
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Finland |
10 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 14 | +26 | 26 | Champions |
| 2 | A | Switzerland (H) |
10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 9 | +39 | 28 | Runners-up |
| 3 | B | Norway |
10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 22 | +8 | 20 | Third place |
| 4 | B | Canada |
10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 20 | +21 | 24 | Fourth place |
| 5 | B | Czechia |
8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 21 | −1 | 13 | Eliminated in Quarterfinals |
| 6 | A | Latvia |
8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 12 | |
| 7 | B | Sweden |
8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 19 | +9 | 12 | |
| 8 | A | United States |
8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 11 | |
| 9 | B | Slovakia |
7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 11 | Eliminated in Preliminary round |
| 10 | A | Germany |
7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 10 | |
| 11 | A | Austria |
7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 29 | −12 | 9 | |
| 12 | B | Denmark |
7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 26 | −11 | 6 | |
| 13 | B | Slovenia |
7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 25 | −12 | 6 | |
| 14 | A | Hungary |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 38 | −24 | 3 | |
| 15 | B | Italy |
7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 28 | −23 | 1 | Relegated to the 2027 IIHF World Championship Division I |
| 16 | A | Great Britain |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 35 | −28 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) position in the group; 2) number of points; 3) goal difference; 4) goals scored; 5) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host
Statistics
[edit]Scoring leaders
[edit]List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM | POS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sven Andrighetto | 10 | 4 | 11 | 15 | +12 | 6 | F |
| Macklin Celebrini | 10 | 6 | 8 | 14 | +13 | 4 | F |
| Denis Malgin | 10 | 5 | 8 | 13 | +12 | 2 | F |
| Roman Josi | 10 | 5 | 7 | 12 | +15 | 6 | D |
| Nico Hischier | 10 | 6 | 5 | 11 | +10 | 2 | F |
| Lucas Raymond | 8 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +4 | 0 | F |
| Sandis Vilmanis | 8 | 4 | 7 | 11 | +7 | 4 | F |
| Timo Meier | 9 | 3 | 8 | 11 | +10 | 6 | F |
| Aleksander Barkov | 10 | 3 | 8 | 11 | +5 | 2 | F |
| Rūdolfs Balcers | 8 | 7 | 3 | 10 | +6 | 2 | F |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalties in Minutes; POS = Position
Source: IIHF.com
Goaltending leaders
[edit]Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list.
| Player | TOI | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonardo Genoni | 430:42 | 4 | 0.56 | 133 | 97.08 | 3 |
| Kristers Gudļevskis | 416:52 | 10 | 1.44 | 186 | 94.62 | 2 |
| Henrik Haukeland | 483:45 | 14 | 1.74 | 225 | 93.78 | 3 |
| Devin Cooley | 341:06 | 10 | 1.76 | 151 | 93.38 | 0 |
| Justus Annunen | 489:38 | 12 | 1.47 | 169 | 93.37 | 1 |
TOI = time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = shots against; GA = goals against; GAA = goals against average; Sv% = save percentage; SO = shutouts
Source: IIHF.com
Awards
[edit]The awards were announced on 31 May 2026.[19]
Media All Stars
[edit]| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| Goaltender | Leonardo Genoni |
| Defenceman | Roman Josi |
| Defenceman | Henri Jokiharju |
| Forward | Macklin Celebrini |
| Forward | Sven Andrighetto |
| Forward | Aleksander Barkov |
| MVP | Roman Josi |
Individual awards
[edit]| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| Goaltender | Henrik Haukeland |
| Defenceman | Roman Josi |
| Forward | Macklin Celebrini |
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.
- 1 2 3 4 In top division. Results in tiers below are excluded.
- ↑ Sweden have won in 1953, 1957, 1962, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2006, 2013, 2017 and 2018.
- ↑ Canada have won in 1920, 1924, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1994, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2023.
References
[edit]- ↑ Podnieks, Andrew (31 May 2026). "Helenius scores the golden goal".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Aykroyd, Lucas (31 May 2026). "Norway stuns Canada for historic bronze".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "IIHF – To Tampere/Riga in '23, to Switzerland in '26". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ↑ "IIHF World Rankings; Probable Groups For 2026". thehockeynews.com. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ↑ "IIHF Sport Regulations (pgs4,5)" (PDF). iihf.com. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- 1 2 "IIHF – Mascot". IIHF.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
- ↑ "Cooly the cow: Bringing events to life through iconic mascots". infront.sport. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
- ↑ "Is Cooly Cow the best mascot ever?". BBC Newsround. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
- ↑ "Five mascots that made history". swissinfo.ch. 5 March 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
- ↑ "IIHF – A report from the IIHF Congress". IIHF.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. 26 May 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
- 1 2 "IIHF – TIME TO SHINE – the official song for the 2026 IIHF WM". IIHF.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. 6 October 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
- ↑ "World Championship officials announced". IIHF. 7 May 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "Groups for the 2026 IIHF WM announced". iihf.com. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ↑ "The Game Schedule for the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is here!". iihf.com. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
- ↑ "Tournament Info". iihf.com. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ↑ "Tournament Info". iihf.com. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ↑ "Tournament Format". iihf.com. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Tournament Format". IIHF. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
- ↑ "Josi named tournament MVP, All-Star, and Best Defender". iihf.com. 31 May 2026.
