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.

Source: Wikipedia

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2026 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships

Map of the countries participating at the 2026 IIHF World Championships

As in (/wiki/2025Men'sIceHockeyWorldChampionships), 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.

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.

Championship (Top Division)

2026 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships

The tournament will be held in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, from 15 to 31 May 2026.

• Austria • Canada • Czechia • Denmark • Finland • Germany • Great Britain • Hungary • Italy • Latvia • Norway • Slovakia • Slovenia • Sweden • Switzerland – Host • United States

Division I

Group A

The tournament will be held in Sosnowiec, Poland from 2 to 8 May 2026.

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>OTW</th><th>OTL</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Promotion or relegation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td> Kazakhstan</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Promoted to the 2027 Top Division</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td> France</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td> Ukraine</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td> Japan</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td> Poland (H)</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td> Lithuania</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Relegated to the 2027 Division I B</td></tr></tbody></table>

Group B

The tournament will be held in Shenzhen, China from 29 April to 5 May 2026.

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>OTW</th><th>OTL</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Promotion or relegation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td> Romania</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Promoted to the 2027 Division I A</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td> South Korea</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td> Estonia</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td> China (H)</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td> Spain</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td> Netherlands</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>Relegated to the 2027 Division II A</td></tr></tbody></table>

Division II

Group A

The tournament was scheduled to be held in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates from 20 to 26 April 2026. On 18 March 2026, the tournament was postponed due to the 2026 Iran war.

• Australia • Belgium • Croatia • Georgia • Serbia • United Arab Emirates

Group B

The tournament will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 6 to 12 April 2026.

• Bulgaria • Chinese Taipei • Iceland • Israel • Kyrgyzstan • New Zealand

Division III

Group A

The tournament will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 13 to 19 April 2026.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina • Mexico • South Africa • Thailand • Turkey • Turkmenistan

Group B

The tournament will be held in Hong Kong from 13 to 19 April 2026.

• Hong Kong • Luxembourg • Mongolia • North Korea • Philippines • Uzbekistan

Division IV

2026 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships

The tournament was scheduled to be held in Kuwait City, Kuwait from 12 to 18 April 2026. On 18 March 2026, the tournament was postponed due to the 2026 Iran war. A week later, the tournament was cancelled.

• Armenia • Indonesia • Iran • Kuwait • Malaysia • Singapore