Some more details on the 2015 Worlds in Prague and Ostrava have been released – the all-important groupings! The teams break down as follows (current IIHF rankings in parentheses):
| GROUP A 🇸🇪 Sweden (1) 🇨🇦 Canada (4) 🇨🇿 Czechia (5) 🇨🇭 Switzerland (7) 🇱🇻 Latvia (9) 🇫🇷 France (12) 🇩🇪 Germany (13) 🇦🇹 Austria (16) |
GROUP B 🇫🇮 Finland (2) 🇷🇺 RUSSIA (3) 🇺🇸 United States (6) 🇸🇰 Slovakia (8) 🇳🇴 Norway (10) 🇧🇾 Belarus (11) 🇸🇮 Slovenia (14) 🇩🇰 Denmark (15) |
Current champions Russia will begin their defence (assuming they are still champions) at the start of May in Ostrava – considering they took the IHLC from Finland to win the Sochi Olympics, what would be more fitting than a rematch to kick off the 2014 Championship against the Leijonat!
But can they hold on to their title for the entire tournament? After six failed tries, can Slovenia push through in Group B and win their first ever IHLC game? Who will be promoted, who will be relegated, and most importantly, who will leave Prague with the gold and the International Hockey Lineal Championship?
Photo Credit: Steve Coleman
