2026 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships
The 2026 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships will be the 89th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams will participate at several levels of competition based on their 2025 results. The competition will also serve as qualifications for division placements in the 2027 edition.
As in 2025, teams from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to enter, as they remain suspended by the IIHF due to the countries' invasion of Ukraine.[1]
As a test, two divisions will play their tournament with two groups, with a knockout stage to follow and the winner of the final to be promoted. The last-placed teams of each group will play a two-game series to determine the relegated team.[2]
Championship (Top Division)
[edit]The tournament will be held in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, from 15 to 31 May 2026.[3]
Teams
Austria
Canada
Czechia
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Great Britain
Hungary
Italy
Latvia
Norway
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland – Host
United States
Division I
[edit]Group A
[edit]The tournament will be held in Sosnowiec, Poland from 2 to 8 May 2026.[4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kazakhstan
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promoted to the 2027 Top Division |
| 2 |  France
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Ukraine
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 |  Japan
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 |  Poland (H)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 |  Lithuania
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegated to the 2027 Division I B |
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) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host
Group B
[edit]The tournament will be held in Shenzhen, China from 29 April to 5 May 2026.[4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Romania
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promoted to the 2027 Division I A |
| 2 |  South Korea
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Estonia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 |  China (H)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 |  Spain
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 |  Netherlands
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegated to the 2027 Division II 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) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host
Division II
[edit]Group A
[edit]The tournament will be held in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates from 20 to 26 April 2026.[4]
Teams
Group B
[edit]The tournament will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 6 to 12 April 2026.[4]
Teams
Division III
[edit]Group A
[edit]The tournament will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 13 to 19 April 2026.[4]
Teams
Group B
[edit]The tournament will be held in Hong Kong from 13 to 19 April 2026.[4]
Teams
Division IV
[edit]The tournament will be held in Kuwait City, Kuwait from 12 to 18 April 2026.[5]
Teams
References
[edit]- ^ Kaplan, Emily (4 February 2025). "IIHF extends competition ban for Russia, Belarus". ESPN.com. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "IIHF to trial new format for lower division tournaments". iihf.com. 13 December 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ Merk, Martin (27 May 2022). "To Tampere/Riga in '23, to Switzerland in '26". IIHF. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "A report from the IIHF Congress". IIHF. 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ^ "Recap: 2025 Semi-Annual Congress". IIHF. 4 October 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
