One of the biggest dates on the ice hockey calendar, the IIHF Men’s World Championships deliver intense international competition every year.
Having commenced officially as a standalone tournament in 1930, it has now crowned 84 world champions, or 87 if you see the Ice Hockey World Championships as starting at the Olympic Games of 1920.
Coming into the 2023 World Championships, the joint-record champions Canada are actually out at +250 to take back the crown, with Finland just ahead at +200 in the sport betting.
Just in time for this year’s tournament, here’s a look at the history of the coveted international ice hockey competition.
What are the Ice Hockey World Championships?
The Ice Hockey World Championships are a set of tournaments that currently pit national ice hockey teams against each other every year to determine a world champion and the Division in which other teams will play in the following year.
The crown jewel of the annual tournament is the IIHF World Championship, which is comprised of the 16 best teams in the world that have held their place or been promoted to the top Division of the World Championships.
Officially, the IIHF considers three Olympic Games as the first editions of the tournament, but in 1930, it became a standalone annual meet between the best hockey nations in the world.
Over the years, the tournament structure has changed several times, suiting the growing influence of the governing body: the IIHF.
It began as a 12-nation contest in which 11 played an elimination tournament to face Canada in the final, but it then pivoted to a ten-team round-robin qualifiers format with knockout hockey added on for the medal positions.
Through to the late-1930s, the format pivoted to and from a set up that involved a deciding gold medal game and one that was based on points in a league format.
As more and more nations sought to compete after World War II, the IIHF restructured to a split-division format – then known as Pool A for the title and Pool B for ranking and the chance to move into Pool A – in 1951.
It wasn’t until the 1990 IIHF Congress that the Ice Hockey World Championships settled on a playoff system, and in 2001, the Pools became four Divisions. Nowadays, there can be five Divisions competing in the annual cycle.
How do the Ice Hockey World Championships Work?
The Ice Hockey World Championships work in a divisional structure with promotion and relegation opportunities each year, but only the hosts, the remainder of the top-placing teams of the last tournament, and Division I qualified teams compete for the trophy.
As such, the IIHF World Championship is the top competition of the Ice Hockey World Championships, while the lower Divisions play in their own tournaments to attempt to be promoted to the next flight up for the next year.
For example, the 2023 IIHF World Championship won’t feature Italy or Great Britain after the two finished as the bottom teams of their respective groups in the top-tier competition of 2022.
Instead, Hungary and Slovenia will enter as the Division I qualifiers, having placed first and second in the five-team 2022 IIHF World Championship Division I tournament, which takes a league format approach to decide promotion.
The IIHF World Championship itself features a single round-robin group stage of Group A and Group B, with the top four teams from each going to the playoff round to find gold, silver, and bronze medal winners.
Italy didn't go down without a fight. See you at Men's Worlds 2024, Great Britain!
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 5, 2023
Game Story:https://t.co/MFu6e7lt49#IIHFWorlds Div 1A@TeamGBicehockey pic.twitter.com/Svq2zoh1pN
What are the Most Successful Teams in Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships History?
The most successful teams in men’s Ice Hockey World Championships history are Canada and Russia for the most gold medals or tournament wins, but Canada edges ahead with the most top-three finishes.
Both Canada and Russia boast 27 wins of the international tournament, but Canada wins on silver medals 16-10, while bronze medal bragging rights go to Russia at 10-9.
That said, there’s been a spell of Scandinavian dominance in recent editions. Sweden won the crown in 2017 and 2018, followed by Finland in 2019.
Canada got another in 2021 to become the joint record holder, but Finland reclaimed the crown in 2022 by beating Canada in the final.
At the turn of the millennium, there was also a takeover by the Czechia national team. In 1996, 1999, 2000, and 2001, the state made independent on the last day of 1992 claimed the gold medal.
Do NHL Players Compete in the Ice Hockey World Championships?
NHL players regularly compete in the Ice Hockey World Championships, but predominantly, it’ll be those whose teams don’t make it to the playoffs or go very far due to the tournament now starting in mid-May.
Unlike the Winter Olympic Games – which take place in the middle of the NHL season and, thus, the league sometimes doesn’t allow players to go – you’ll spot several NHL stars at the IIHF World Championships.
At this stage in the postseason, the Edmonton Oilers (+320), Florida Panthers (+360), Carolina Hurricanes (+440), New Jersey Devils (+600), Vegas Golden Knights (+650), Seattle Kraken (+850), Dallas Stars (+900), and Toronto Maple Leafs (+2000) are all still in the NHL odds to win the Stanley Cup, so their stars won’t attend the ICWC.
For 2023, that rules out the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Aaron Ekblad, Sebastian Aho, Jack Eichel, Philipp Grubauer, and Auston Matthews.
Big shoutout to Grubi, Kuhly, Geekie, Driedgs & Lars for repping their home countries at the #IIHFWorlds tournament! pic.twitter.com/topz39wro2
— x - Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) June 4, 2022
When Does the 2023 IIHF World Championship Take Place?
The 2023 IIHF World Championship takes place from May 12 to May 28 across Finland and Latvia. It’ll feature 16 teams and the tournament will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada.
In Group A, Finland, the US, Sweden, and Germany are the assumed top teams, but Denmark, France, Austria, or even Division I qualifier Hungary could upset the odds to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
In Group B, Canada and its rather young roster looks to assert its dominance, while Czechia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Latvia, Norway, Kazakhstan, and Slovenia will look to take points from the joint-record tournament winners.
2⃣0⃣ players have been selected to wear the 🍁 at #IIHFWorlds.
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) May 5, 2023
2⃣0⃣ joueurs ont été choisis pour porter la 🍁 au #MondialIIHF.
ROSTER ➡️ https://t.co/SSdXQtwf1N
FORMATION ➡️ https://t.co/vp9VBvfXXd pic.twitter.com/Uh5ytKfatd
Will Canada get the gold medal to make the nation the outright best in the tournament’s history in 2023, or will modern Scandinavian dominance continue? It’s not long until we find out.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
