The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European Championships, the precursor to the World Championships, were first held in 1910. The tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics is recognized as the first Ice Hockey World Championship. From 1920 to 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.
The Canada men's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada internationally. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. From 1920 until 1963, Canada's international representation was by senior amateur club teams. Canada's national men's team was founded in 1963 by Father David Bauer as a part of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, playing out of the University of British Columbia. The nickname "Team Canada" was first used for the 1972 Summit Series and has been frequently used to refer to both the Canadian national men's and women's teams ever since.
The Sweden men's national ice hockey team is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and the United States.
The Slovakia men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Slovakia and is controlled by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation. A successor to the Czechoslovakia national team, it is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world. The team's general manager is Miroslav Šatan and their head coach is Craig Ramsay.
The Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of the Czech Republic. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. It is governed by the Czech Ice Hockey Association. The Czech Republic has 85,000 male players officially enrolled in organized hockey.
The Russian men's national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Russia, overseen by the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. As of 2021, they were rated third in the IIHF World Ranking. The team has competed internationally from 1992 until a 2022 ban, and is recognized by the IIHF as the successor to the Soviet Union team and CIS team. Russia has been one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six," the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. The European nations of the Big Six participate in the Euro Hockey Tour, which Russia won nine times since 2005. Since September 2021, the head coach is Alexei Zhamnov, who took over from Valeri Bragin.
The Finnish men's national ice hockey team, nicknamed Leijonat / Lejonen, is governed by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Finland is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the United States, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Sweden.
The German men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Germany and is controlled by the German Ice Hockey Federation. It first participated in serious international competition at the 1911 European Hockey Championship. When Germany was split after World War II, a separate East Germany national ice hockey team existed until 1990. By 1991, the West and East German teams and players were merged into the United German team. The team's head coach is Toni Söderholm.
The Swedish women's national ice hockey team or Damkronorna represents Sweden at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's Championships. The women's national team is organized by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Sweden had 3,425 female players registered with the IIHF in 2011.
The Belarusian men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team that represented Belarus. The team is controlled by the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association. Belarus was ranked 14th in the world by the IIHF as of the 2021 World Ranking.
The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers them to be "the three most important championships available to the sport".
Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is a Swedish ice hockey coach and former ice hockey player. Gustafsson is a former head coach of the Sweden men's national ice hockey team, a post he held from February 2005 to May 2010.
The men's tournament in ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics was held in Turin, Italy, from 15 to 26 February. Twelve teams competed, with Sweden winning the gold medal, Finland winning silver, and the Czech Republic winning bronze. It was the third Olympic tournament to feature National Hockey League (NHL) players and the tenth best-on-best hockey tournament in history. United States defenseman Chris Chelios set a standard for longest time between his first Olympic ice hockey tournament and his last—he had competed twenty-two years earlier at the 1984 Olympics. The old record was set by Swiss hockey player Bibi Torriani. who had played twenty years after his debut.
Jukka Pertti Juhani Jalonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey coach and former player. In 2011, 2019 and 2022, he led the Finnish national team to the gold medal in the IIHF World Championship, and at the 2022 Winter Olympics, he coached the team that won Finland's first ever Olympic gold in ice hockey. He was the head coach of Jokerit in the Kontinental Hockey League during 2016–2018 before returning to coach the Finnish national team.
Jan Olle Conny Evensson is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey player and coach. He is currently an advisor in leadership subjects for Frölunda HC.
Richard "Bibi" Torriani was a Swiss ice hockey player and coach, and luge athlete, also known as Riccardo Torriani.
Jacob Anders Markström is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender and plays for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League. He was selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round, 31st overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He has also played for the Vancouver Canucks.
Ronald Rolston is an American ice hockey coach who is currently Associate Head Coach at Providence College. He was previously the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.
Kent Forsberg is a Swedish ice hockey coach. He has coached Modo Hockey of the Elitserien and, between 1995 and 1998, the Swedish national team. He is the father of former NHL player Peter Forsberg.
Bo Tovland was a Swedish ice hockey coach and executive. He was the general manager of the Sweden men's national ice hockey team at seven Ice Hockey World Championships, three Winter Olympics and three Canada Cup tournaments. Under his leadership, Sweden won gold in ice hockey at the 1994 Winter Olympics, and three gold medals at the Ice Hockey World Championships. He previously coached the national junior team to a gold medal at the 1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and won multiple medals coaching the under-18 men's team. He began working for the Swedish Ice Hockey Association in 1961, sat on its board of directors from 1981 to 2002, and was its vice-chairman for eight years. He was also a member of the Swedish Olympic Committee from 1985 to 2005, and was a member of International Ice Hockey Federation committees from 1998 to 2008. Tovland received multiple honors for his career in hockey, which included H. M. The King's Medal in 1996, the Paul Loicq Award for contributions to international ice hockey in 2006, and induction into the Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.
Sweden