Some more details on the 2015 Worlds in Malmö have been released – the all-important groupings! The teams break down as follows (current IIHF rankings in parentheses):
| GROUP A 🇨🇦 CANADA (1) 🇺🇸 United States (2) 🇫🇮 Finland (4) 🇷🇺 Russia (6) |
GROUP B 🇨🇭 Switzerland (3) 🇸🇪 Sweden (5) 🇩🇪 Germany (7) 🇯🇵 JPN (8) / 🇨🇿 CZE (9) |
Current champions Canada will begin their defence (assuming they are still champions) at the end of April against either the United States, Finland or Russia. Considering they took Gold from the US to win the Sochi Olympics, what would be more fitting than a rematch to kick off the 2014 Championship (and what will likely be the 2014 Finals game as well)!
But can they hold on to their title for the entire tournament? Will a new champion, like Russia, Switzerland or Germany emerge? Who will be promoted, who will be relegated, and most importantly, who will win and leave Sweden with the International Hockey Lineal Championship?
Photo Credit: Richard Budman
International Hockey Lineal Championship 