2023 IIHF World Championship

Main article: 2023 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships

2023 IIHF World Championship

Tournament details
Host countries	Finland   Latvia
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Dates	12–28 May
Opened by	Sauli Niinistö
Teams	16
Final positions
Champions	Canada (28th title)
Runner-up	Germany
Third place	Latvia
Fourth place	United States
Tournament statistics
Games played	64
Goals scored	354 (5.53 per game)
Attendance	442,160 (6,909 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Rocco Grimaldi (14 points)
MVP	Artūrs Šilovs
←  2022 2024  →

The 2023 IIHF World Championship was co-hosted by Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. The tournament was held from 12 to 28 May 2023, organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

As in the 2022 edition, the tournament saw several upsets: Kazakhstan's win over Norway, Hungary's win over France, Latvia's first victory over Czechia, Norway’s second win over Canada, as well as Kazakhstan's first victory over Slovakia. ^{[1] [2]} The playoffs also saw major upsets, as Latvia reached the semi-finals for the first time after defeating favourite Sweden 3–1 in the quarter-finals, ^[3] Germany upset Switzerland 3–1 and the reigning Olympic and World Champion Finland lost to Canada 4–1. Czechia finished in 8th place after losing to the United States (USA) 3–0 in the quarter-finals, which is that nation's worst placement to date in the history of the World Championship. Germany reached the final for the first time since 1930 after upsetting the top-seeded USA 4–3 in overtime.

Canada won its 28th title by beating Germany 5–2 in the final. ^[4] The silver was Germany's first medal since 1953. Latvia claimed its first IIHF medal after defeating the USA 4–3 in overtime and finishing third. ^[5]

Host nation bid

The event was originally planned to be held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, but, in February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called for Russia and Belarus to be stripped of hosting rights to all international sporting events due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ^[6] On 26 April 2022, Russia lost their rights to host the World Championship. ^[7]

After being promoted to the top division, Slovenia and Hungary bid to co-host the event in Ljubljana and Budapest. ^[8] The bid was withdrawn due to Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation informing the IIHF that it did not receive the governmental guarantees to host. Finland and Latvia submitted a joint bid, with Nokia Arena in Tampere and Arena Riga in Riga as potential host venues. ^[9] On 27 May 2022, the IIHF confirmed that Finland and Latvia would host the tournament, with Finland having also hosted the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Tampere (Nokia Arena) and Helsinki (Helsinki Ice Hall). ^[10]

Venues

Finland	Tampere Riga	Latvia
Tampere		Riga
Nokia Arena Capacity: 13,455		Arena Riga Capacity: 10,300

Participants

Qualified as hosts

•   Finland
•   Latvia

Automatic qualifier after a top 14 placement at the 2022 IIHF World Championship

•   Austria
•   Canada
•   Czechia
•   Denmark
•   France

  

  Spiky 2.0, the official mascot of the championship in Riga

•   Germany
•   Kazakhstan
•   Norway
•   Slovakia
•   Sweden
•    Switzerland
•   United States

Qualified through winning promotion at the 2022 IIHF World Championship Division I

•   Hungary
•   Slovenia

Seeding

The seedings in the preliminary round are based on the 2022 IIHF World Ranking, as of the end of the 2022 IIHF World Championship, using the serpentine system while allowing the organizer, "to allocate a maximum of two teams to separate groups." ^{[11] [12]}

Group A (Tampere)   Finland (1)   United States (4)   Sweden (5)   Germany (9)   Denmark (10)   France (13)   Austria (15)   Hungary (20)

Group B (Riga)   Canada (2)   Czechia (6)    Switzerland (7)   Slovakia (8)   Latvia (11)   Norway (12)   Kazakhstan (16)   Slovenia (19)

Rosters

Main article: 2023 IIHF World Championship rosters

Each team's roster consists of at least 15 skaters (forwards, and defencemen) and 2 goaltenders, and at most 22 skaters and 3 goaltenders. All 16 participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, have 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.

Match officials

16 referees and linesmen were announced on 6 April 2023. ^{[13] [14]}

Referees	Linesmen
Adam Bloski Mike Langin Jan Hribik Mads Frandsen Lassi Heikkinen Mikko Kaukokari Liam Sewell Sirko Hunnius André Schrader Andris Ansons Tobias Björk Christoffer Holm Stefan Hürlimann Miroslav Štolc Sean Fernandez Sean MacFarlane	David Nothegger Brett Mackey Tarrington Wyonzek Daniel Hynek Jiří Ondráček Andreas Krøyer Onni Hautamäki Tommi Niittylä Nicolas Constantineau Andreas Hofer Dāvis Zunde Šimon Synek Emil Yletyinen Eric Cattaneo Nick Briganti Jake Davis

Preliminary round

The groups were announced on 29 May 2022, ^[15] with the schedule being revealed on 8 September 2022. ^[16]

Group A

Main article: 2023 IIHF World Championship Group A

A game between France and Hungary in Nokia Arena

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	United States	7	6	1	0	0	34	8	+26	20	Quarterfinals
2	Sweden	7	5	1	1	0	26	7	+19	18
3	Finland (H)	7	5	0	1	1	28	15	+13	16
4	Germany	7	4	0	0	3	27	16	+11	12
5	Denmark	7	2	1	0	4	19	26	−7	8	Qualification for 2024 IIHF World Championship
6	France	7	0	1	2	4	10	31	−21	4
7	Austria	7	0	1	1	5	11	27	−16	3 [lower-alpha 1]
8	Hungary	7	0	1	1	5	12	37	−25	3 [lower-alpha 1]	Relegation to 2024 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. Austria 4–3 Hungary

12 May 2023
Finland		1–4		United States
Sweden		1–0		Germany
13 May 2023
France		2–1 (OT)		Austria
Hungary		1–3		Denmark
Germany		3–4		Finland
14 May 2023
United States		7–1		Hungary
France		3–4 (OT)		Denmark
Sweden		5–0		Austria
15 May 2023
Germany		2–3		United States
Finland		1–2 (GWS)		Sweden
16 May 2023
Denmark		6–2		Austria
France		2–3 (OT)		Hungary
17 May 2023
United States		4–1		Austria
Finland		5–3		France
18 May 2023
Hungary		1–7		Sweden
Denmark		4–6		Germany
19 May 2023
Hungary		1–7		Finland
Austria		2–4		Germany
20 May 2023
United States		3–0		Denmark
Austria		1–3		Finland
Sweden		4–0		France
21 May 2023
Germany		7–2		Hungary
United States		9–0		France
22 May 2023
Denmark		1–4		Sweden
Austria		4–3 (GWS)		Hungary
23 May 2023
Germany		5–0		France
Sweden		3–4 (OT)		United States
Finland		7–1		Denmark

Group B

Watching hockey in Dome Square, Riga

Postgame between Sweden and Latvia in Arena Riga

Main article: 2023 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	29	10	+19	19	Quarterfinals
2	Canada	7	4	1	1	1	25	11	+14	15
3	Latvia (H)	7	3	2	0	2	21	17	+4	13 [lower-alpha 1]
4	Czechia	7	4	0	1	2	22	16	+6	13 [lower-alpha 1]
5	Slovakia	7	3	0	2	2	15	15	0	11	Qualification for 2024 IIHF World Championship
6	Kazakhstan	7	1	2	0	4	14	31	−17	7
7	Norway	7	1	1	1	4	9	17	−8	6
8	Slovenia	7	0	0	0	7	9	27	−18	0	Relegation to 2024 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 3–4 Latvia

12 May 2023
Slovakia		2–3		Czechia
Latvia		0–6		Canada
13 May 2023
Switzerland		7–0		Slovenia
Norway		3–4 (GWS)		Kazakhstan
Slovakia		2–1		Latvia
14 May 2023
Slovenia		2–5		Canada
Norway		0–3		Switzerland
Czechia		5–1		Kazakhstan
15 May 2023
Slovakia		1–2 (GWS)		Canada
Czechia		3–4 (OT)		Latvia
16 May 2023
Slovenia		0–1		Norway
Switzerland		5–0		Kazakhstan
17 May 2023
Latvia		2–1		Norway
Canada		5–1		Kazakhstan
18 May 2023
Czechia		6–2		Slovenia
Switzerland		4–2		Slovakia
19 May 2023
Latvia		3–2		Slovenia
Kazakhstan		4–3 (GWS)		Slovakia
20 May 2023
Norway		0–2		Czechia
Canada		2–3		Switzerland
Kazakhstan		0–7		Latvia
21 May 2023
Slovenia		0–1		Slovakia
Czechia		2–4		Switzerland
22 May 2023
Canada		2–3 (GWS)		Norway
Kazakhstan		4–3		Slovenia
23 May 2023
Slovakia		4–1		Norway
Canada		3–1		Czechia
Switzerland		3–4 (OT)		Latvia

Playoff round

Main article: 2023 IIHF World Championship playoff round

There was a re-seeding after the quarter-finals. ^[17] If Finland and Latvia were to play in the quarter-finals, there would have been no cross-over for the quarter-finals.

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	25 May
	1A   United States	3
					27 May
	4B   Czechia	0
					1   United States	3
	25 May
					8   Germany (OT)	4
	1B    Switzerland	1
									28 May
	4A   Germany	3
									8   Germany	2
	25 May
									4   Canada	5
	2A   Sweden	1
					27 May
	3B   Latvia	3
					4   Canada	4
	25 May
					6   Latvia	2			Third place
	2B   Canada	4
									28 May
	3A   Finland	1
									1   United States	3
									6   Latvia (OT)	4

Final standings

Teams finishing fifth in the preliminary round were ranked ninth and tenth, teams finishing sixth are ranked 11th and 12th, and so on. ^[18]

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	B	Canada	10	7	1	1	1	38	16	+22	24	Champions
2	A	Germany	10	5	1	0	4	36	25	+11	17	Runners-up
3	B	Latvia (H)	10	4	3	0	3	30	25	+5	18	Third place
4	A	United States	10	7	1	2	0	43	16	+27	25	Fourth place
5	B	Switzerland	8	6	0	1	1	30	13	+17	19	Eliminated in Quarter-finals
6	A	Sweden	8	5	1	1	1	27	10	+17	18
7	A	Finland (H)	8	5	0	1	2	29	19	+10	16
8	B	Czechia	8	4	0	1	3	22	19	+3	13
9	B	Slovakia	7	3	0	2	2	15	15	0	11	Eliminated in Group stage
10	A	Denmark	7	2	1	0	4	19	26	−7	8
11	B	Kazakhstan	7	1	2	0	4	14	31	−17	7
12	A	France	7	0	1	2	4	10	31	−21	4
13	B	Norway	7	1	1	1	4	9	17	−8	6
14	A	Austria	7	0	1	1	5	11	27	−16	3
15	A	Hungary	7	0	1	1	5	12	37	−25	3	Relegated to 2024 IIHF World Championship Division I
16	B	Slovenia	7	0	0	0	7	9	27	−18	0

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

Rocco Grimaldi of the United States led the tournament in scoring with 14 points

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

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM	POS
Rocco Grimaldi	10	7	7	14	+8	6	F
Dominik Kubalík	8	8	4	12	+3	0	F
JJ Peterka	10	6	6	12	+8	0	F
Rihards Bukarts	10	3	8	11	+3	8	F
MacKenzie Weegar	10	3	8	11	+10	6	D
T. J. Tynan	10	1	10	11	+10	0	F
Henrik Tömmernes	8	0	10	10	+5	2	D
Cutter Gauthier	10	7	2	9	+9	2	F
Lawson Crouse	10	6	3	9	+9	4	F
Nikolaj Ehlers	7	5	4	9	−3	0	F

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

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
Stanislav Škorvánek	238:39	5	1.26	108	95.37	1
Karel Vejmelka	236:26	7	1.78	124	94.35	1
Sam Montembeault	423:07	10	1.42	163	93.87	1
Lars Johansson	303:42	8	1.58	120	93.33	2
Samuel Hlavaj	189:05	7	2.22	103	93.20	0

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

Bronze medal celebration at the foot of the Freedom Monument in Riga

Artūrs Šilovs was named the tournament MVP, best goaltender, and was selected to the tournament all-star team

The awards were announced on 28 May 2023. ^[19]

Individual awards

Position	Player
Goaltender	Artūrs Šilovs
Defenceman	MacKenzie Weegar
Forward	JJ Peterka

Media All Stars

Position	Player
Goaltender	Artūrs Šilovs
Defenceman	MacKenzie Weegar
Defenceman	Moritz Seider
Forward	JJ Peterka
Forward	Rocco Grimaldi
Forward	Dominik Kubalík
MVP	Artūrs Šilovs

Broadcasting rights

TV studios in Nokia Arena: the Finnish C More (left) and the Swedish SVT (right)

Broadcasting cameras and positions for the commentators in Nokia Arena, Tampere

These are the broadcasters for the tournament. ^[20]

Country	Broadcaster
Austria	ORF
Canada	TSN
	RDS
Czech Republic	ČT
Denmark	TV 2 Sport
Estonia	ERR
Finland	MTV
France	Fanseat
Germany	Sport1
	Magenta Sport
Hungary	Sport 1
Kazakhstan	Qazsport
Latvia	LTV
	Tet
Lithuania	LRT
Norway	Viaplay
Poland	TVP
Russia	Match TV
Slovakia	RTVS
Slovenia	RTV
	Šport TV
Sweden	SVT
Switzerland	SRG SSR
Ukraine	XSPORT
United Kingdom	Viaplay Sports
United States	NHL Network
	ESPN+

References

1. O'Brien, Derek (15 May 2023). "Latvia wins, Batna the OT hero". IIHF. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
2. Podnieks, Andrew (19 May 2023). "Kazakhs top Slovakia in record shootout". IIHF. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
3. Podnieks, Andrew (25 May 2023). "Brinums (Miracle) in Riga!". IIHF. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
4. Podnieks, Andrew (28 May 2023). "Canada rallies to win gold". IIHF. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
5. Aykroyd, Lucas (28 May 2023). "Latvia wins historic bronze in OT". IIHF. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
6. Iveson, Ali (25 February 2022). "Strip Russia and Belarus of events and do not display their flags, says IOC". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
7. "IIHF to move 2023 World Championship". iihf.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
8. "Slovenia, Hungary mount joint bid to host Ice-Hockey Worlds in 2023". The Slovenia Times . Ljubljana, Slovenia. 9 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
9. Merk, Martin. "Tampere/Riga candidate for 2023". IIHF. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
10. Merk, Martin (27 May 2022). "To Tampere/Riga in '23, to Switzerland in '26". IIHF. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
11. Merk, Martin. "Finland stays #1 in World Ranking". IIHF. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
12. Merk, Martin. "World Championship Schedule Released". IIHF. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
13. Aykroyd, Lucas (6 April 2023). "2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Officials Chosen". IIHF. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
14. "Competition officials" (PDF). iihf.com. 10 May 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
15. Merk, Martin (29 May 2022). "Finland stays #1 in World Ranking". IIHF. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
16. Merk, Martin (8 September 2022). "World Championship schedule released". IIHF. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
17. "IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship 2023: Preview, schedule, stars involved, how to watch live". olympics.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
18. "Tournament Format". iihf.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
19. O'Brien, Derek (28 May 2023). "Silovs MVP, All-Stars named". IIHF . Retrieved 28 May 2023.
20. "Broadcast Partners List" (PDF). IIHF . Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.

External links

• Official website