2025 IIHF World Championship

Main article: 2025 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships

2025 IIHF World Championship

Världsmästerskapet i ishockey för herrar 2025 (in Swedish) IIHF Verdensmesterskabet 2025 (in Danish)
Tournament details
Host countries	Sweden   Denmark
Venue(s)	2
Dates	9–25 May
Opened by	Carl XVI Gustaf Frederik X
Teams	16
Final positions
Champions	United States (3rd title)
Runners-up	Switzerland
Third place	Sweden
Fourth place	Denmark
Tournament statistics
Games played	64
Goals scored	373 (5.83 per game)
Attendance	489,450 (7,648 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	David Pastrňák (15 points)
Awards
MVP	Leonardo Genoni [1]
←  2024 2026  →

The 2025 IIHF World Championship was co-hosted by Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark, from 9 to 25 May 2025. This decision regarding Sweden was made at the 2018 semi-annual International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) congress in Malta, and was officially announced on 24 May 2019, at the IIHF's annual congress during the World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. ^[2] At the same time, it was announced that Denmark would co-host the championship. ^[3]

In the quarterfinals, co-host country Denmark defeated Canada by a 2–1 score, in what was widely considered one of the biggest upsets in IIHF World Championship history. ^{[note 1]} Denmark subsequently played in their first-ever semifinal, while Canada did not finish in the top four for the first time since 2014. Since the IIHF re-introduced a playoff system in 1992, the United States reached the World Championship final for the first time after having lost 12 consecutive semifinals, and secured their World Championship medal for the first time since winning bronze in 2021. ^[11] After losing their semifinal and the subsequent bronze medal game, Denmark finished in the top four for the first time in tournament history.

The United States won the gold medal for the first time since 1960 and their third overall (also in 1933). ^{[12] [13]} It was also their first top two finish since 1960. Switzerland lost its fourth consecutive final.

This tournament was also the first time since the 2019 IIHF World Championship that both promoted teams (Hungary and Slovenia) stayed in the top division.

Participants

Qualified as hosts

•   Sweden
•   Denmark

Automatic qualifier after a top 14 placement at the 2024 IIHF World Championship

•   Austria
•   Canada
•   Czechia
•   Finland
•   France
•   Germany
•   Kazakhstan
•   Latvia
•   Norway
•   Slovakia
•    Switzerland
•   United States

Qualified through winning promotion from the 2024 IIHF World Championship Division I

•   Hungary
•   Slovenia

Seeding

The seedings in the preliminary round are based on the 2024 IIHF World Ranking, at the end of the 2024 IIHF World Championship, using the serpentine system while allowing the organizers, "to allocate a maximum of two teams to separate groups," while ensuring hosts Sweden and Denmark will be in separate groups. ^[14]

Group A (Stockholm)   Canada (1)   Finland (3)   Sweden (7)   Slovakia (9)   Latvia (10)   Austria (13)   France (14)   Slovenia (19)

Group B (Herning)   Czechia (4)    Switzerland (5)   United States (6)   Germany (8)   Denmark (11)   Norway (12)   Kazakhstan (15)   Hungary (18)

Marketing

Slogan

The slogan of the competition was pulse, and main phrase of it was "Feel the Pulse". ^[15]

Mascot

The mascot of the event was called Beaty, a character with a heart-shaped face and bright cheeks. Beaty was a lively and agile mascot who bounced around, spreading energy to everyone around it, and always with a high pulse. ^[16]

Rosters

Main article: 2025 IIHF World Championship rosters

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. ^[17]

Match officials

16 referees and linesmen were announced on 7 May 2025. ^[18]

Referees	Linesmen
Christian Ofner Michael Campbell Mike Langin Jan Hribik Mads Frandsen Riku Brander Mikko Kaukokari Kristian Vikman André Schrader Andris Ansons Peter Stano Tobias Björk Christoffer Holm Mikael Holm Michael Tscherrig Sean MacFarlane	Tarrington Wyonzek Daniel Hynek Jiří Ondráček Albert Ankerstjerne Onni Hautamäki Tommi Niittylä Patrick Laguzov Danny Beresford Dāvis Zunde Oto Durmis Ludvig Lundgren Anders Nyqvist Dominic Schlegel Nick Briganti Jake Davis Shane Gustafson

Venues

Sweden	Stockholm Herning	Denmark
Stockholm		Herning
Avicii Arena Capacity: 12,530		Jyske Bank Boxen Capacity: 10,500 [19]

Preliminary round

The groups were announced on 30 May 2024, ^[20] with the schedule being revealed on 19 August 2024. ^[21]

Group A

Sweden vs Latvia at the Avicii Arena

Main article: 2025 IIHF World Championship Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Canada	7	6	0	1	0	34	7	+27	19	Quarterfinals
2	Sweden (H)	7	6	0	0	1	28	8	+20	18
3	Finland	7	4	2	0	1	22	10	+12	16
4	Austria	7	2	2	0	3	21	18	+3	10
5	Latvia	7	3	0	0	4	17	25	−8	9	Qualified for the 2026 IIHF World Championship
6	Slovakia	7	2	0	1	4	9	24	−15	7
7	Slovenia	7	1	0	1	5	9	29	−20	4
8	France	7	0	0	1	6	8	27	−19	1	Relegated to the 2026 Division I A

Source: IIHF
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

9 May 2025
Austria		1–2		Finland
Sweden		5–0		Slovakia
10 May 2025
Slovenia		0–4		Canada
Sweden		4–2		Austria
France		1–4		Latvia
11 May 2025
Slovakia		3–1		Slovenia
Latvia		1–7		Canada
Finland		4–3 (OT)		France
12 May 2025
Austria		3–2 (GWS)		Slovakia
Finland		1–2		Sweden
13 May 2025
Slovenia		2–5		Latvia
Canada		5–0		France
14 May 2025
Slovakia		2–1		France
Latvia		0–6		Sweden
15 May 2025
Finland		9–1		Slovenia
Canada		5–1		Austria
16 May 2025
Austria		5–2		France
Sweden		4–0		Slovenia
17 May 2025
Finland		2–1		Latvia
France		0–4		Sweden
Canada		7–0		Slovakia
18 May 2025
Slovenia		2–3 (GWS)		Austria
Slovakia		1–5		Latvia
19 May 2025
France		1–3		Slovenia
Canada		1–2 (GWS)		Finland
20 May 2025
Latvia		1–6		Austria
Slovakia		1–2		Finland
Sweden		3–5		Canada

Group B

Main article: 2025 IIHF World Championship Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Switzerland	7	6	0	1	0	34	9	+25	19	Quarterfinals
2	United States	7	5	1	0	1	34	14	+20	17 [a]
3	Czechia	7	5	1	0	1	35	14	+21	17 [a]
4	Denmark (H)	7	3	1	0	3	25	24	+1	11
5	Germany	7	3	0	1	3	20	22	−2	10	Qualified for the 2026 IIHF World Championship
6	Norway	7	1	0	1	5	13	24	−11	4
7	Hungary	7	1	0	0	6	8	39	−31	3 [b]
8	Kazakhstan	7	1	0	0	6	9	32	−23	3 [b]	Relegated to the 2026 Division I A

Source: IIHF
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
Notes:

1. Czechia 2–5 United States
2. Kazakhstan 2–4 Hungary

9 May 2025
Switzerland		4–5 (OT)		Czechia
Denmark		0–5		United States
10 May 2025
Norway		1–2		Kazakhstan
Germany		6–1		Hungary
Denmark		2–5		Switzerland
11 May 2025
United States		6–0		Hungary
Germany		4–1		Kazakhstan
Norway		1–2		Czechia
12 May 2025
United States		0–3		Switzerland
Czechia		7–2		Denmark
13 May 2025
Norway		2–5		Germany
Kazakhstan		2–4		Hungary
14 May 2025
United States		6–5 (OT)		Norway
Kazakhstan		1–5		Denmark
15 May 2025
Switzerland		5–1		Germany
Czechia		6–1		Hungary
16 May 2025
Hungary		2–8		Denmark
Switzerland		3–0		Norway
17 May 2025
United States		6–3		Germany
Czechia		8–1		Kazakhstan
Denmark		6–3		Norway
18 May 2025
Kazakhstan		1–6		United States
Hungary		0–10		Switzerland
19 May 2025
Germany		0–5		Czechia
Hungary		0–1		Norway
20 May 2025
Switzerland		4–1		Kazakhstan
Czechia		2–5		United States
Germany		1–2 (GWS)		Denmark

Playoff round

Main article: 2025 IIHF World Championship playoff round

There was a re-seeding after the quarterfinals.

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	22 May
	1A   Canada	1
					24 May
	4B   Denmark	2
					2    Switzerland	7
	22 May
					7   Denmark	0
	1B    Switzerland	6
									25 May
	4A   Austria	0
									2    Switzerland	0
	22 May
									4   United States (OT)	1
	2A   Sweden	5
					24 May
	3B   Czechia	2
					3   Sweden	2
	22 May
					4   United States	6			Third place
	2B   United States	5
									25 May
	3A   Finland	2
									3   Sweden	6
									7   Denmark	2

Final

Main article: 2025 IIHF World Championship final

25 May 2025 20:20

Switzerland

0–1 OT (0–0, 0–0, 0–0) (OT: 0–1)

United States

Avicii Arena, Stockholm Attendance: 12,530

Game reference
	Leonardo Genoni	Goalies	Jeremy Swayman	Referees: Michael Campbell Mikael Holm Linesmen: Albert Ankerstjerne Onni Hautamäki
	0–1 62:02 – Thompson (Cooley, Skjei)
	4 min	Penalties	4 min
	25	Shots	40

Final standings

Teams finishing fifth in the preliminary round were ranked ninth and tenth, teams finishing sixth were ranked 11th and 12th, and so on. ^[22]

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	B	United States	10	7	2	0	1	46	18	+28	25	Champions
2	B	Switzerland	10	8	0	2	0	47	10	+37	26	Runners-up
3	A	Sweden (H)	10	8	0	0	2	41	18	+23	24	Third place
4	B	Denmark (H)	10	4	1	0	5	29	38	−9	14	Fourth place
5	A	Canada	8	6	0	1	1	35	9	+26	19	Eliminated in Quarterfinals
6	B	Czechia	8	5	1	0	2	37	19	+18	17
7	A	Finland	8	4	2	0	2	24	15	+9	16
8	A	Austria	8	2	2	0	4	21	24	−3	10
9	B	Germany	7	3	0	1	3	20	22	−2	10	Eliminated in Preliminary round
10	A	Latvia	7	3	0	0	4	17	25	−8	9
11	A	Slovakia	7	2	0	1	4	9	24	−15	7
12	B	Norway	7	1	0	1	5	13	24	−11	4
13	A	Slovenia	7	1	0	1	5	9	29	−20	4
14	B	Hungary	7	1	0	0	6	8	39	−31	3
15	B	Kazakhstan	7	1	0	0	6	9	32	−23	3	Relegated to the 2026 IIHF World Championship Division I
16	A	France	7	0	0	1	6	8	27	−19	1

Source: IIHF
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

Scoring leaders

List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals.

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM	POS
David Pastrňák	8	6	9	15	+7	4	F
Elias Lindholm	10	8	6	14	+8	0	F
Roman Červenka	8	6	8	14	+8	4	F
Nathan MacKinnon	8	7	6	13	+9	10	F
Travis Konecny	8	3	10	13	+9	12	F
Frank Nazar	10	6	6	12	+7	6	F
Nick Olesen	10	5	7	12	−3	4	F
Sidney Crosby	8	4	8	12	+8	6	F
Logan Cooley	10	4	8	12	+4	10	F
Tyler Moy	10	4	8	12	+8	0	F

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalties in Minutes; POS = Position
Source: IIHF

Goaltending leaders

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	424:32	7	0.99	150	95.33	4
Daniel Vladař	219:52	4	1.09	81	95.06	1
Jordan Binnington	239:15	5	1.25	90	94.44	2
Juuse Saros	358:50	10	1.67	174	94.25	0
Samuel Ersson	259:06	5	1.16	76	93.42	2

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

The awards were announced on 25 May 2025. ^[1]

Media All Stars

Position	Player
Goaltender	Leonardo Genoni
Defenceman	Zach Werenski
Defenceman	Dean Kukan
Forward	David Pastrňák
Forward	Elias Lindholm
Forward	Nick Olesen
MVP	Leonardo Genoni

Individual awards

Position	Player
Goaltender	Leonardo Genoni
Defenceman	Zach Werenski
Forward	David Pastrňák

IIHF contributors' awards

The annual IIHF contributors' awards ceremony was on 24 May 2025, prior to the semifinal games of the men's championship. ^[23]

Award recipients

• Jon Haukeland of Norway received the Paul Loicq Award for outstanding contributions to international ice hockey. ^[24]
• Leszek Laszkiewicz of Poland received the Torriani Award for a player with an outstanding career from non-top hockey nation. ^[25]
• The IIHF Milestone Award was given to the 2002/2003 Denmark men's national ice hockey teams, and the 2006 Sweden men's national ice hockey team. ^[23]
• Jim Aldred of Portugal received the Johan Bollue Award for contributions to growth and development in youth ice hockey. ^[26]
• Paul Graham of The Sports Network received the IIHF Media Award for outstanding contributions to international hockey through television, print, and radio. ^[23]

IIHF Hall of Fame induction

The IIHF Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place on 25 May 2025, during the medal presentations of the men's championship. ^[27]

IIHF Hall of Fame inductees

• Zdeno Chára, Slovakia ^[28]
• Kai Hietarinta, Finland ^[29]
• Henrik Lundqvist, Sweden ^[30]
• Kim Martin Hasson, Sweden ^[30]
• Frans Nielsen, Denmark ^[31]
• Vicky Sunohara, Canada ^[32]
• David Výborný, Czechia ^[33]

Notes

1. Attributed to multiple sources: ^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]}

References

1. Pakarinen, Risto (25 May 2025). "Genoni gets MVP nod". IIHF.
2. "IIHF – IIHF Worlds bids in for '23, '24, '25". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
3. "Danmark bliver VM-vært i 2025 sammen med Sverige". ishockey.dk (in Danish). 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
4. "IIHF - Denmark stuns Canada". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
5. Kingerski, Dan (22 May 2025). "What?! Canada, Crosby Suffer Huge Upset Loss at Worlds". Pittsburgh Hockey Now. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
6. "Denmark's Dazzling Victory: A Historic Upset in Ice Hockey". Devdiscourse. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
7. "How did Denmark beat Canada? Frederik Dichow's 39 saves tell the story". The Economic Times. 23 May 2025. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 23 May 2025.
8. "2025 IIHF Worlds Quarterfinals: Denmark Stuns Canada, Sweden Defeats Czechia". Yardbarker. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
9. "Denmark's 'Miracle Of Midtjylland' sends Canada crashing out". Reuters. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
10. "Drama in Denmark shakes up Worlds | Montréal Canadiens". www.nhl.com. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
11. Pakarinen, Risto (24 May 2025). "USA to play for gold". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
12. "U.S. men's hockey team wins first standalone world championship since 1933". NBC Sports. 25 May 2025.
13. "U.S. wins 1st ice hockey world championship in 92 years, honors Johnny Gaudreau". CBS News. 25 May 2025.
14. "IIHF Sport Regulations (pgs4,5)" (PDF). iihf.com. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
15. "IIHF – The 'Pulse' of the 2025 IIHF WM can already be sensed". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation.
16. "IIHF – Meet Beaty – The official mascot of 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation.
17. "Player Entry". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. 1 May 2025.
18. "Competition officials" (PDF). IIHF. 7 May 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
19. "IIHF – Jyske Bank Boxen". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation.
20. "The 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship grouping revealed" . Retrieved 30 May 2024.
21. "2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship game schedule released". iihf.com. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
22. "Tournament Format". IIHF. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
23. Podnieks, Andrew (1 January 2025). "IIHF Contributors' Class 2025". International Ice Hockey Federation . Retrieved 24 May 2025.
24. "Jon Haukeland valgt inn i IIHFs Hall of Fame". Norwegian Ice Hockey Association (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norway. 2 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
25. Leleń, Mateusz (3 January 2025). "Leszek Laszkiewicz włączony do Galerii Sławy IIHF". Telewizja Polska (in Polish). Retrieved 5 January 2025.
26. Podnieks, Andrew (3 May 2025). "Puerto Rico claims Men's Development Cup". International Ice Hockey Federation . Retrieved 5 May 2025.
27. Podnieks, Andrew (3 January 2025). "IIHF Hall of Fame Inductees Class of 2025". International Ice Hockey Federation . Retrieved 24 May 2025.
28. "Veľká pocta pre Zdena Cháru. Uvedú ho do Siene slávy IIHF". Sportnet (in Slovak). TASR. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
29. "Lajivaikuttaja Kai Hietarinta valittiin jääkiekon kunniagalleriaan". Karjalainen (in Finnish). STT. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
30. "Lundqvist och Martin Hasson invalda i Hall of fame". Sveriges Television (in Swedish). 3 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
31. "Dansk legende modtager stor hæder". TV 2 (in Danish). Odense, Denmark. Ritzau. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
32. "Lundqvist, Chara and Sunohara headline IIHF's 2025 Hall of Game class". The Sports Network . Toronto, Ontario. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
33. "Hokejista Výborný bude letos uveden do Síně slávy IIHF". Czech News Agency (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.

External links

• Official website