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 ๐ธ๐ช Sweden (1) ๐จ๐ฆ Canada (4) ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia (5) ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland (7) ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia (9) ๐ซ๐ท France (12) ๐ฉ๐ช Germany (13) ๐ฆ๐นย Austria (16) |
GROUP B ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland (2) ๐ท๐บ RUSSIA (3) ๐บ๐ธ United States (6) ๐ธ๐ฐย Slovakia (8) ๐ณ๐ด Norway (10) ๐ง๐พ Belarus (11) ๐ธ๐ฎ Sloveniaย (14) ๐ฉ๐ฐ 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 IHLCย from Finland to win Gold at the 2014 Worlds, what would be more fitting than a rematch to kick off the 2015 Championship against the Leijonat!
But can they hold on to their title for the entire tournament? After six failed tries, canย 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 theย International Hockey Lineal Championship?
Photo Credit: Steve Coleman